It's a Classical Life

  It's not as strange as it sounds looking to Jane Austen for health and wellbeing tips. Her books are littered with references to "health and happiness", "glowing health", "cheerful dispositions" and "blooms full of health." And her tips and tricks for a healthy and happy life aren't as wild as you might think. There is no sweating it out at a gym or counting calories. People ate as well as they could afford to, although mostly in moderation (those who were known to 'pig out' were often gently mocked or criticised). The tips I have included here will not surprise you. There are, for the most part, common sense. General regard for one's wellbeing was common and the necessary care was taken to ensure that people were able to return to their full health, if unwell.  Take the time to recover properly “Jane caught a bad cold, poor thing! so long ago as the 7th of November, (as I am going to read to you,) and has never been well si...

LEISURE What is this life, if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like stars at night. No time to turn at Beauty; glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.                              W.H. Davies  This stirring poem by Welsh poet W.H. Davies was first published in 1911 yet its message, I believe, is still just as important today. I have talked about past-times on the blog before but having read Sense and Sensibility last month, I wanted to look in a bit more detail at some of the leisure activities that these early Victorian women got ...