Written by Aditi Bainss

Long walks in green meadows. Tea cups in sunlit rooms. Baby goats and baby ducks. Pink roses blooming in the garden. White linen clothes drying on the clothesline in the backyard of a quaint, rustic lodge. A woman, in a billowy patterned dress, tending to her plants. 

It might sound like the opening credits to a Disney fairytale but rather it is the backdrop of the viral Instagram and Tik Tok aesthetic - Cottagecore.

And while cottagecore is often stereotyped to be just another trend for women to create content about, there is more to it than the eyes can behold. It is an ethos celebrating the soft simplicity of an idealized rural life. A reaction - and often an escape - to the crippling pressures of hustle culture applauded in our capitalist existence. And there is much to learn from it.

Doing Less Can Be More

In the cottagecore universe, there are no 10-min home deliveries for two items that, quite frankly, you did not even need till tomorrow. There are no ‘quick calls’ at 9:30 in the night from your manager. No doom scrolling on the Internet looking at what everybody else is up to. No sitting in the traffic for an hour to reach an office where you are going to sit for another nine or ten hours in front of your laptop. No pressure to be on the go 24x7 and no flimsy sense of fulfillment.

The idea here is to not fall back into a century-old past because let’s be honest, the past was not all sunshine and rainbows. The core of cottagecore is anti-modern yet its power lies in being able to improve our frenzied modern lives.

It allows us to embody our need to relax the mind and nourish our soul. Escaping from the hustle and bustle of the city and spending a few days connecting with ourselves in nature creates moments of screen-free bliss that can not only help reduce feelings of stress and anger but can also amp up your confidence and self-esteem. In fact, it even helps you pursue a more active lifestyle.

Embracing such a slower and conscious lifestyle helps you strike a healthier balance between your personal and professional lives. You get the opportunity to step away from the burden of work and pursue creative activities that can bring you purpose and fulfillment outside of the confines of your job. 

Sometimes, No Plans Can Be The Best Plan

Put simply, cottagecore champions small moments and simple pleasures. It is the joy of watering your leafy plants and reading a book without feeling the constant need to be doing something more. More productive. More social. Or, more value-driven.

And the most surprising aspect of it all is that you don’t have to constantly live on a farm to be able to seek such simple joys. Drive a few kilometers away from the city and spend a couple days in wholesome isolation at tiny homes in nature’s lap. Then, incorporating those moments in your mainstream urban days can be a powerful way to feel a sense of self-soothing and self-caring in your everyday life. Cottagecore might just be the bridge to a more sustainable future that we all have been looking for.