Downshifting

Proverbs
• Love is Blind. How do you understand this proverb? Do you agree with it? What are some examples of when love is blind?
• Still Waters Run Deep. This idiom is a more difficult to understand … what do you think it means? Do you think that you are a person like “Still water?”

Discussion Topic: Downshifting
Downshifting is a social behavior in which people live simpler lives to escape from the rat race of obsessive materialism and to reduce the stress, overtime, and psychological expense that may accompany it. It means finding an improved balance between leisure and work, and focusing life goals on personal fulfillment and relationship building of pursuing economic success.

1. Have you ever seen the film or read the book, “Into the Wild”?
2. Do you know of any examples of people who have downshifted their lives? Is there any part of your life that you would like to change in the model of “Downshifting”?
3. In America, people too often focus their lives on economic success. Do you think it's a problem in Ukraine too? How do these two countries compare on this question?
4. Some people criticize donwshifting. They say that it is for people who cannot survive in modern society. Do you like the idea of downshifting, or do you oppose it?
5. Do you think that it is possible that many Ukrainian people will someday choose to move back to village life? Does downshifting have a big future in Ukraine?