It's a Classical Life

  Harper Lee's classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird , is one of my favourite novels. Lee's writing is moving and thought-provoking and this quote is one of many that I have highlighted in my copy of the book. Conscience, moral behaviour, ethics and so on are all important themes highlighted throughout the book, but are just as relevant and important to our modern lives. There are so many things in the world that are wanting to distract us from who we are, what we value and how we wish to live our lives. By being in touch with these things, reflecting on them often, truly knowing ourselves deep down, we know that despite "majority rule" we can live in a way that satisfies our conscience and brings us true joy. If we are living in a way that doesn't sit well with our conscience, it is (in my opinion) near impossible to find joy and peace in our lives and in our selves.  Sometimes we need to understand what we need to let go of, what we need to hold onto and what we ...

  Rilla of Ingleside  by L.M. Montgomery is a beautiful story about Anne Shirley's and Gilbert Blythe's youngest daughter, Rilla (short for Marilla). I love Montgomery's stories, but this one with its up-close account of the the families and loved ones left behind during WWI was especially moving and sweet.  A couple of weeks ago I shared a Bitesize Inspiration on Maturity, and this week, rather coincidentally, I have one on youth. I remember being a teenager, and I can assure you that those 'pangs of youth' were very real for me. Perhaps my parents were laughing at me, but I don't recall that ever happening. Just as Christie reminded us in that last quote, maturity does come with age and a mantra like "this too will pass" can be helpful for those who are ready to hear it but quite hurtful for those who are still feeling those pangs acutely.  With a houseful of teenagers this quote is an especially poignant reminder for myself not to patronise, dimini...

  Although my love for art has predominantly been early Italian Renaissance art, I have developed a deep appreciation recently for the Dutch classics. Today I want to share with you one particular artist, and in fact, one particular paintings of his - The Night School (sometimes called An Evening School) by Gerard Dou.  Source This painting is on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The information I am going to share with you about Dou also comes from the Rijksmuseum website. Dou was born in 1613 in a family of glass engravers. However, when he was only fifteen years old he was apprenticed to Rembrandt where he learnt the technique of chiaroscuro   for which he is renowned.  The reason I chose this painting to share with you was because of that technique. This painting spoke to me with its darkness and four points of light. Our family has been going through a dark time this last week and I have been trying hard to keep some points of light in my thoughts and my ...

  Hello and welcome back to It's a Classical Life. I've had a lovely break over January - we went away to the beach for a holiday, visited family, played games, read, then returned for the new year of school, work and studies. It's been a good mix of busy and relaxing! I hope the new year has started gently for you too.  I have been giving a lot of thought as to how I would like to continue with the blog this year. One small change that I was thinking of introducing was including more quotes from classic books as part of my Bitesize Inspiration posts. I constantly take note of quotes that I love and have so many that I would love to share them with you. Today's quote comes from a short story by Agatha Christie called The Problem at Pollensea Bay and was said by her famous character Mr. Parker Pyne.  The reason I loved this quote and took note of it was because we often seem to live in a world of  perpetual youth. Pyne was actually directing this to a woman, a mo...

  Hello Friends and thanks so much for stopping by here today. Amongst the the lists that I like to make and the goals I like to plan, there is one that I haven't shared here before. That is, a reading goals list for the coming year. There are a few books that I would like to read in 2024. Some of these have been on my shelf (or on my Kindle) waiting patiently for my attention. Others I will need to order from the library but am inspired to read. Others still are rereads that I want to revisit and fall in love with all over again. So, without further ado, here is my list of Reading Goals for 2024.  Evil Under the Sun - Agatha Christie Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell Othello - William Shakespeare Hamlet (reread) - William Shakespeare The Picture of Dorian Grey - Oscar Wilde Nineteen Eighty-Four (reread) - George Orwell The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain Villette - Charlotte  Bront ë   The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton (Kindle Download) Agnes Gre...

  Welcome back to It's a Classical Life. We are now a week into 2024 and I hope that this year will bring you much fulfilment and happiness. I know this is the time for people to be making (and possibly breaking) their New Year's Resolutions  and it's common for these resolutions to be centred around our wellbeing, and perhaps the wellbeing of those around us.  Zeno - one of my favourite Stoic philosophers - reminds us, though, that wellbeing is realised by small steps. Small, easy steps that we can incorporate into our everyday as seamlessly as possible. He doesn't suggest that wellbeing comes from hours of sweating through hard workouts, intense meditation or yoga retreats, strict eating regimes or long therapy sessions. Small steps . Baby steps even. The contradiction, or paradox, lies in the second part of his quote. It is truly no small thing. If wellbeing is realised through small steps, then why does it still feel so elusive to so many people? Perhaps because ...