It's a Classical Life

John Burroughs said that the smallest deed is better than the greatest intention. At this time of year everyone is talking about intentions and setting goals for the new year . I don't think there is anything wrong with that at all. In fact, I enjoy setting a new word each year to guide my thoughts, actions, way of living and attitude in the coming year. These are all things that I try and do constantly anyway to live a healthier, more mindful simple life. I see this (or these) word more as a guiding light than a rigid goal that must be abided by (I tend to rebel when I impose too many restrictions or boundaries on myself 😏). Before setting a goal, or guiding light as I'm calling them this year, it's important to have a conversation with yourself and really figure out what's going well in your life. Don't think of problems that need to be fixed - instead view things in a more positive light. What do you want more of this year? What do you need to guide you to the l...

Each morning I try and get up early enough to do 10-15 minutes of meditation, followed by some reading and then journalling. I have been using the Insight Timer app for a number of years for meditation, contemplative prayer and listening to gentle music. I love it. Every morning there is a new quote of inspiration and a couple of days ago I saw this one by John Boynton Priestley. Before this, I hadn't heard of Priestley - an English playwright, social commentator and novelist. I love it when I come across a quote that speaks to me without knowing anything about the author. Firstly, it gives me the chance to mull over the quote in my time without any bias of who said it, in what context or what they were referring to. However, if I so choose, I can research into it and find out more about the context.  This quote spoke to me because last year I wondered whether it was worth continuing on with my blog. Was this a form of communication that mattered? Was I even saying anything n...

  Paula Vince, over at Vince Review has come up with a reading challenge for 2025 that I would love to join, so I thought that I would share with you how I get on throughout the year. I currently don't have any reading goals for 2025 so this little challenge should be fun and easy to commit to. In fact, I already have a few titles in mind to fit each of the categories, but there are some that I am going to do have to do some research for.  If you would like to see Paula's original post, you can see it here . Basically, she is inspired to read more Australian literature and has stipulated that each novel must have an Australian setting and not simply an Australian author. I think it's really important to support Australian authors and literature, and as I tend to gravitate towards European or American classics, I am keen for the challenge. Australian literature really does have a flavour all of its own and I have read embarrassingly little of it. This is something that I wo...

"I imagine we are none of us what may be called rich, though we all possess a genteel competency, sufficient for tastes that are elegant and refined, and would not, if they could, be vulgarly ostentatious.” Cranford, Elizabeth Cranford 1904 I know that q uiet luxury  is a not a recent or new trend but recently I was watching a simple living blogger on Youtube who made a comment that made me stop and think. She said that many people who follow the quiet luxury trend aren't actually rich but are simply trying to appear wealthy and that that particular trend is not in alignment with simple living.  I sat with her words for a while, not entirely sure that I agreed with them. I realised that her interpretation of the term "quiet luxury" and mine didn't match up. For her, it was a focus on wearing expensive clothing and jewellery and even going into debt to appear that one was more wealthy than they actually were. There are some people trying to appear rich and luxurio...

  Happy 2025! The New Year was welcomed quite gently this year with family visiting, dinner eaten outside, cricket, an evening stroll, movies, games and finally watching the fireworks at midnight on the television. It was relaxed and joyful and I am hoping, will set the tone for the coming year. 2024 ran away with me. I lost a lot of direction, felt overwhelmed and fell back into old habits that did not improve either my mental health or my bank balance. I stopped blogging, which saddened me and enabled me to move even further away from the intentional and slow lifestyle that I so craved. In the last couple of months of the year I decided that I needed to make a change. I began to wake early and meditate. I watched the sun rise. I tried to consistently take an evening stroll once the heat of the day had passed. And I began to research the concept of a no-buy year for 2025. There are more than a few articles, Youtube videos, blog posts and personal accounts on the internet that disc...