It's a Classical Life

Are you a morning person? Or do you like a slow start to the day? Either way, Beecher's quote can help you start your day right. Whenever your first hour of the day is, whether it be 5am or noon, then how that first hour looks will guide the rest of the day like a rudder on a boat. I used to get up early, at least an hour before the rest of the family. I would read, journal and plan my day. The day was usually equally efficient. I've had a lot of trouble doing that this year and my mornings are more stressful. I think it is time that I also headed Beecher's advice, and look to that first hour of the day.  Whenever you wake up, consider how you will spend that first hour. Does it bode well for you to rush and hurry through that hour, rushing to work or school? Do you take your time over a leisurely cup of tea? Do you read or journal? Do you jump straight online? Do you exercise? Whatever your first hour looks like, consider how it might be impacting the rest of your day an...

Welcome back to It's a Classical Life! I took a week off from blogging over Easter to visit some family and generally relax. It was lovely and you can see some pictures from our travels in this post. I did, however, keep reading my classics - current read is The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I'm enjoying it so much and just like A Room With a View by E.M. Foster it is really making me think about English society one or two hundred years ago. I know these books are considered modern classics, but it still amazes me how much has changed and yet, how very little has remained the same in our world. There are still prejudices, still quarrelling families, still heartache and anxiety. It got me thinking about how we can use the classics to help us with our everyday lives, and how just by reading them, we can reap so many benefits.  If you are a regular visitor here you may already know and appreciate these benefits of reading the classics, but if you are new to it, or struggling...

  Have you heard of Albert Einstein's 'Theory of Happiness?' If not, here it is! It's fairly straight forward and reminds me of the scripture from the Bible, Ecclesiastes 4:6. It is not ground breaking nor is it difficult to attain, and yet in a world where we are more unhappy, more discontent and more disillusioned than ever before, perhaps it still feels unattainable to some people. We are told by society to do more, to be more, to strive for ever higher goals and once you get on that hamster wheel it becomes very difficult to get off. If you are just starting out your adult life, perhaps Einstein's theory can help be a guide. For those of us half-way through our lives or even in the last quarter, it's not too late to avoid the constant unrest and aim for a quiet and modest life.  Einstein wrote this piece of advice down in 1922, so we are one hundred years on and it seems, even further away from achieving this goal. Perhaps, in the next one hundred years we w...

Recently re-runs of the classic  Murder She Wrote starring Dame Angela Lansbury has started playing on television. I record them and watch one or two on the weekend or whenever I get the chance to have a sit down. If you don't know it, Murder She Wrote ran from 1984-1996 and follows retired English teacher-cum-detective fiction-write-cum-amateur-sleuth Jessica Fletcher. Due to her curious nature and intellectual observations, Fletcher not only writes about crimes and murders but she often finds herself embroiled in real crimes as well. I love so many things about this show: the cosy mysteries, the stunning film locations, and Jessica Fletcher's classic outfits. I thought it was time that we have another classic style discussion and Jessica Fletcher seemed the perfect choice for us to discuss. Here are 10 reasons why Jessica Fletcher should be your next classic style inspiration. 1. A scarf is always a good idea Source Source Source I think this is the best piece of...

  Thomas Bulfinch was a nineteenth century American writer, famous for putting together volumes on mythology - Greek, Roman and British. Recently, I bought his book "Bulfinch's Mythology: Stories of Gods and Heroes" and have loved delving back into Greek mythology. What about you? Do you read mythology? Do you, like Bulfinch, see it as the handmaiden of literature? It is the second part of this quote that I particularly love. Literature, for me, does promote happiness and allies with virtue. I'd love to know what you think in the comments below. Have a lovely week, all!

  We've been chatting a bit lately about how life is becoming more expensive, and last week I shared 9 ways to live well when money is tight . One of these tips was to join the public library and to use it for free entertainment. In continuing with this theme I noticed that there are a lot of classic books available for free online. Many of these are available for download at Gutenberg, but Vicki at V ickie's Kitchen and Garden often shares free digital Kindle downloads, and I thought I would do the same. The ones I want to share today are from Amazon and work well with the free Kindle App that can be downloaded on both Apple and Android phones. I have a second-hand iPhone 8 and it works perfectly with these digital downloads. As a side note, I would definitely advocate reading books in paper where possible, but if that isn't possible and you're ready to jump on the classics bandwagon, here are some the books I saw for free on Amazon this week (please check the price b...