Tag: American Author

My Abundant Life 8-3-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

August 3rd, 2026

A Net For Catching Days

“A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days…. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order–willed, faked, and so brought into being.”

Annie Dillard (American Author; January 28th, 1873 to August 3tf, 1954)

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Annie Dillard (American Author; January 28th, 1873 to August 3rd, 1954)

“I live an intentional life and I look at everything I am up to as a joy and not a chore. Even the simplest task of grocery shopping is an ‘outing’ and and event for me and my husband. We get up at 5:30AM and get to the market by 6:00AM. Shoot for a perfect shop by finding all the ingredients on our shopping list for a menu we curated before shopping. We top a perfect shop off with gifting ourselves a donut at our local donut shop. Pure magic!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 284 to 286 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-27-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

July 27th, 2026

Solitary Pleasures

“Alone, alone, Oh! We have been warned about solitary vices. Have solitary pleasures ever been adequately praised? Do many people know they exist?”

Jessamyn West (American Author, July 18th, 1902 to February 23rd, 1984)

“Nothing in our past lives is wasted. Nothing that once made us feel happy and fulfilled is ever lost. There’s a golden thread that runs through each of our lives. We just need to rediscover this thread before the joy of living completely unravels.”

It’s called zest. Exuberance. Joi de vivre, as the French would say, or ‘the love of life.’ The great delight that comes when the pieces of our particular puzzle finally fit. The heartfelt happiness we derive when something brings us keen pleasure. Something uniquely our own. They used to call this magical something a hobby.”

“The state of BEingness in every moment turns your life into one big party. Like we say everyday, ‘We live each day as the best party ever. We eat delicious food, we create stunning cocktails, we have the best sex ever and we love each other HARD!’ If you could have the best food, the best cocktails, the best sex and the best love ever…wouldn’t you go for it? We do and we do!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 273 to 274 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-24-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

July 24th, 2026

Paying a High Price

“[Certain] high-achieving women are imploded with demands, both external and internal, and lack the skills to filter them. These women complain that the first thing they sacrifice is their private time or private pleasures.”

Harriet B. Braiker, Ph.D. (American Clinical Psychologist, Management Consultant, & Author, 1948 to 2004)

“Those of us who don’t spend regular time alone to rest and recoup are likely to suffer from what psychologists call ‘privacy deprivation syndrome.’ Symptoms include increasing resentment, mood swings, chronic fatigue, and depression.”

“I have worked on my sleep hygiene and the time I head to bed. This has dramatically improved my well being. When I head to bed I do it alone and have nearly 30-minutes of solitude before my husband makes his way to join me.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 270 to 271 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-20-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

July 20th, 2026

True North

“It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.”

Ursula K. LeGuin (American Author, October 21st, 1929 to January 22nd, 2018)

“I used to believe that happiness could only be found after arriving at my heart’s destination. Explorers call it true north.”

“…I’ve learned that the spirit of our journey is as important, perhaps even more important, than the arrival at our destination. In order for us to realize genuine happiness, we must be willing to court contentment every step of the way. For after all, the journey is really all that most of us will ever know. Day in, day out. The journey is real life.”

“I found myself saying to myself…I can’t live where I want to…I can’t go where I want to…I can’t do what I want to. I can’t even say what I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least paint as I wanted to…that seemed to be the only thing I could do that didn’t concern anybody but myself.”

Georgia O’Keeffe (American Painter; November 15th, 1887 to March 6th, 1986)

“…we can certainly learn slowly to follow her example, to carve out time for rewarding reveries that acquaint us with our authentic selves and give us glimpses of true north.”

“For it’s during our expectant hours–those hours that might once have been called ‘idle’–that we are most pregnant with our own potential.”

“..store up reservoirs of calm and content… and draw on them at later moments when the source isn’t there but the need is very great.”

Rupert Brooke (English Poet; August 3rd, 1887 to April 23rd, 1915)

“This skill–the soulcraft of devoutly caring for our authentic selves–rarely comes naturally or easily. But with practice, with patience, with perseverance, it does come.”

“Listening and peeling away the layers to get to my authentic self has been the most extraordinary journey of my life!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 265 to 266 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 6-5-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

June 5th, 2026

Your Bedroom: Cradle of Civilization

“All one really needs is a divinely attractive bed.”

Mrs. Winston Guest (American Socialite, Fashion Icon & Author; February 19th, 1920 to November 8th, 2003)

“In our bedrooms we have the ability to not just decorate a room, but to create a sacred space for self-nurturance.”

“My bedroom is a sacred space of sanctuary.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 195 to 196 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 5-15-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

May 15th, 2026

Progress, Not Perfection

“Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order.”

Anne Wilson Schaef (American Clinical Psychologist & Author; March 22nd, 1934 to January 19th, 2020)

“How much of our lives is frittered away—spoiled, spent, or sullied—by our neurotic insistence on perfection?”

“Today, accept, that perfection is unattainable. In real life we should strive to be our best—not the world’s.”

“Perfection leaves so little room for improvement. So little space for acceptance—or joy. On the path we have chosen, progress is the simple pleasure to be savored. Daily.”

“I have what I lnow is a particular way of things, and it it not perfect. What is perfect anyways?”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 160 to 162 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 4-28-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

April 28th, 2026

The Intuitive Sense

“Intuition is a spiritual faculty, and does not explain, but simply points the way.”

Florence Scovel Shinn (American Artist & Book Illustrator; September 24th, 1871 to October 17th, 1940)

“Intuition has been called our ‘sixth sense’ and is often an ability ascribed to women.”

…believed that the intelligence that “arises out of sex and beauty is intuition.”

D. H. Lawrence (English Novelist & Short Story Writer; September 11th, 1885 to March 2nd, 1930)

…feminine intuition was a result of our “age-long training in human relations.”

Margaret Mead (American Cultural Anthropologist and Author; December 16th, 1901 to November 15th, 1978)

“Intuition is the subliminal sense Spirit endowed us with to maneuver safely through the maze that is real life. Wild animals rely on their intuition to stay alive; we should reply on ours to thrive.”

“It is only by following your deepest instinct that you can lead a rich life and if you let your fear of consequence prevent you from following your deepest instinct then your life will be safe, expedient and thin.”

Katharine Butler Hathaway (American Writer; 1890 to 1942)

“One such intuitive signal is the emotional trembling that accompanies creative discovery or warns us not to take an action. Another intuitive message breaks through when we suddenly grasp that to try something new might be delightful; we do so and are surprised by joy. A third intuitive nudge occurs through revelational the inner knowing that helps us arrive at the right place at the right time so that we can be swept away by the benevolent flow of synchronicity that gets us where we’re meant to be as easily as the Universe can arrange it.”

“…one in whom persuasion and belief/Had ripened into faith, and faith become/A passionate intuition.”

William Wordsworth (English Poet; April 7th 1770 to April 23rd, 1850)

“I have always had a strong intuitive sense of my experience of the world. It has served me well and I trust it. Combined with my synesthesia, I feel bolstered by my intuition in understanding and navigating my world.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 135 to 136 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 4-26-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

April 26th, 2026

Major and Minor Chords of Pleasure

“With stammering lips and insufficient sounds, I strive and struggle to deliver right the music of my nature.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (English Poet; March 6th, 1806 to June 29th, 1861)

“Psychologists say that deafness, or a severe hearing loss, acquired after a human being has known hearing, can be te single greatest trauma a person can experience.”

Hannah Merker (Writer)

“I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of the earth…”

Kate Chopin (American Author; February 8th, 1850 to August 22nd, 1904)

“I love my ability to hear. I have been having so much fun listening to decades of music and film. I delight in waking up to the birds chirping outside our bedroom window.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 132 to 134 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 4-21-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

April 21st, 2026

Aromatherapy: The Restorative Comfort of Fragrance

“Smells are surer than sounds and sights to make heartstrings crack.”

Rudyard Kipling (English Journalist and Novelist; December 30th, 1865 to January 18th, 1936)

“Our sense of smell is our primordial link to our brains. When we inhale a scent, neurotransmitters in our brains trigger the production of biochemical secretions that affect our moods, feelings, and emotions. When an aromatic essential oil permeates our skin through the bath or a massage, the oil penetrates the epidermis, stimulates our sophisticated lymph duct system, and enters the bloodstream, eventually delivering well-being to our frazzled minds.”

“…smell is a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived.”

Helen Keller (American Author; June 27th, 1880 to June 1st, 1968)

“Smell has always been a huge part of my experience of the world. Lately I have been playing with scent in a new way against the natural pheromones between my husband and myself…DELISCIOUS! One of the ways I knew Neil was my man, is that he always smells like snickerdoodle cookies to me. One of my favorite cookies!🏆“

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 126 to 127 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 4-20-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

April 20th, 2026

Taking the Cure: Bathing Pleasures

“There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.”

Sylvia Plath (American Poet and Author; October 27th, 1932 to February 11th, 1963)

“…a kind of mystic ceremony substituted for religious worship.”

Ambrose Bierce (American author and journalist; June 24th, 1842 to January 1914)

“My philosophy in life is very simple: when in doubt, take a bath.”

“I grew up as a swimmer and have been immersing myself in various bodies of water my whole life. Baths for me are a self-nurturing reset and not for cleansing.“

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 125 to 126 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.