It's a Classical Life

  I believe that we, as a family, live well. Over the years we have made a number of choices that best suit our family - some of them intentional some of them just lucky. I cook most of our meals from scratch, which I enjoy. I also bake our bread each week. I worry about the state of the planet and if I can save on buying store bought bread, with its plastic wrapping, then I feel like I am making small steps to do my bit. There are other ways that we try and help the planet. We use reusable cloths and wipes, pads and towels as much as possible. In terms of toilet paper, this year we started ordering from Who Gives A Crap, an online toilet paper company that wraps their rolls in paper and sends them out in cardboard - again no plastic. I take the time to shop for second hand clothes for myself and the kids (online or in the op shops when they are open), or at least, clothes made from natural products that are on sale. I watched a documentary on Four Corners about clothing waste and ...

When we look at fine art, we are given a number of opportunities. We can simply appreciate the work, its lines and colours, the way it makes us feel. When I write an Artist Spotlight post, however I like to look for artists that inspire me and my values. How can I look at art and recreate the images, or the feelings, the actions, in my own life? What is it about a piece that inspires me, or that speaks to my soul?  Last week, I was looking through some of my favourite artists, wondering which one to use for this week's spotlight, but I decided to use French impressionist artist, Victor Gilbert - someone I don't actually know anything about. HIs paintings, though, were so appealing to me that I wanted to learn more. That's what I love about what I do here, I get to learn right along with you! The images have come from a variety of sources (listed at the end of this post).  Victor Gabriel Gilbert was a French painter belonging to the Impressionist movement. M...

Do you want to live well but don't know where to start? Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of sites out there guiding you with mega motivation, twelve-step programs, or throw-everything-away-and-start-anew mantras? I have a little secret for you. If you really want to live well, consider this classic proverb by John Heywood. It truly is the perfect place to start.   Heywood first recorded this proverb all the way back in 1546; you may recognise it as its more common, modern interpretation: Make hay while the sun shines. I bet you've heard it before! But have you stopped to consider what it really means to us in our modern day lives? It's simple. It means, get ahead and get organised while you can. Our dream life will not suddenly fall into our laps. We have to plan for it and take advantage of moments when we can get that one step closer to our goals. Got an extra $50 left at the end of your pay period? Add it to your emergency saving fund. Spent a little under on...

I don't think it comes as a surprise to any of us to hear that the cost of living is going through the roof at the moment. Everything that we need to live on, is increasing in price. Fuel, groceries, pet food, essential health products - you name it!  As I was compiling last week's Tidbits , I was thinking that it was probably very timely to look at what the Classics can teach us about living well, on a budget. Although many of our favourite classics deal with the wealthy, middle and upper class of British Society (a la Jane Austen), there is still so much to learn and many others from whom we can take our example.  1. Keep a garden Initially, the set up of keeping a garden can be a bit cost prohibitive but it can be worth it in the long run. The more that we can produce at home, especially essentials like fruit and vegetables, the less we need to pay at out at the shops. There are also the additional benefits that food grown or made at home tastes so much better than st...

  Happy Tuesday, friends! Sorry that this week's bitesize inspiration is a day late. We had a lovely visit from my sister and her children and I got a bit behind. I wondered about posting this quote from French mathematician, physicist and theologian, Blaise Pascal, because I really try and promote positive thoughts and inspiration, but I decided to do it anyway just in case this is something we need to think on right now. With social media so prevalent in so many of our lives I have to wonder if we do start to believe in imaginary lives - our own or others'. The fact that Pascal lived four hundred years ago and still made this observation blew my mind. But I suppose it shouldn't have; one of the truths of It's a Classical Life is that by reading the classics we can see quite clearly how what we experience in our life - both good and bad - isn't really new. We can gain comfort from reading the experiences of those who have come before us and often not feel so alone ...

  There has been so much written about how to live well and how to live a simple life over the centuries. Some of our best sources of inspiration come from spiritual and religious texts - people who, centuries ago, had time to contemplate and meditate such existential questions. This week's inspiration comes from a contemporary spiritual writer - Joan Chittester . Chittester belongs to the order of Benedictine sisters and has written so much on spirituality, how to live well, religion, social issues and more. Recently I started reading her book, Becoming Fully Human, from which I have taken this week's quote. I hope it speaks it to as much as it did to me at this time.  I have made a lot of changes recently in my life and I am striving hard for a more simple life. I think what was missing though was this thought of Chittister's. I was making many physical and situational changes but not really addressing my own heart and reaction to the myriad of things that life brings. Th...

"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...

Nobody can think less of dress in general than I do. Do you remember when Mrs Weston said this in Emma ? We all knew she didn't mean it of course, but was rather fixated on complimenting others, in order to receive many compliments in return. There is nothing wrong with being concerned about our dress and how we present ourselves to the world. Being fixated  on it, however, is another thing  altogether. I believe how we choose to dress (yes, this is definitely an area of our lives where our choices can dictate how well we live) can have significant impacts on how we feel about ourselves, how we view the world (and ourselves), how others view us, and how we actually want to live. If, like me, you want to live well, then let's explore the classics for some tips on how to dress well, find our personal style, and ultimately live better.  I think if there is anything that the classics can teach us about a personal style, it is that less is more . So many of the great ladies (a...

A couple of weeks ago, Annabel from The Blubirds are Nesting on the Farm shared a post about pure wool blankets and being prepared for winter . Winter is well and truly upon us here in Australia. For some, that has brought flash flooding and enormous amounts of rain, for others, it means snow, heavy frosts, colder than average temperatures, fog, damaging winds and more. It is easy to be overwhelmed by harsh weather patterns, especially as we hear talk of climate change exacerbating these already unpredictable patterns. Like Annabel, I think there is plenty we can do to be prepared and I chose to look at this topic from a warm and cosy perspective - hygge. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years, I'm sure you've all heard about the Danish concept of hygge  It is what is often attributed to the Danes being amongst the happiest people in the world. I think that the classic novels do wonderfully well to highlight the importance of  hygge in ...