Tag: Inspirational

My Abundant Life 6-3-26

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June 3rd, 2026

Ask, Ask, Ask

“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Matthew 7:7

“I have recently discovered something that’s brought a sense of adventure to my daily round. It’s so simple, it’s scary. It’s asking for what we want. Help. Advice. Wisdom. Guidance. Information–especially information.”

“We don’t ask because we’re afraid somebody will say ‘no.’ But when wishful thinking doesn’t magically manifest what we want, we feel we’ve been denied. So, in future, we choose not to ask, but continue to wish, existing in a constant state of deprivation.”

“Ask for what you need and want. Ask to be taught the right questions. Ask to be answered. Ask for the Divine Plan of your life to unfold though joy. Ask politely. Ask with passion. Ask with a grateful heart and you will be heard. Just ask.”

“I am learning to exercise this muscle more. I am learning to not be attached to the answer as I build this muscle. Instead, I am just asking for what I need and want so that the ask itself gets easier.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 192 to 193 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 6-2-26

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June 2nd, 2026

In Praise of Modesty

“Style is to see beauty in modesty.”

Andrée Putman (French Production Designer; December 23rd, 1925 to January 19th, 2013)

“Meditate on modesty for a moment. What if she isn’t the self-effacing, shy, retiring, nerdy virtue we’ve thought she is? What if Modesty is really passion restrained? What if modesty is a virtue so full of her own smoldering sense of self that she isn’t distracted by the glitz?”

“…the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.”

Oliver Herford (American Writer & Illustrator; December 2nd, 1860 to July 5th, 1935)

“People with an authentic style know what they are, but even more important, they know what they are not. They don’t care about labels. They care about personal expression.”

“I definitely know who I am not. However, this still leaves me a bit a loss to my style.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 191 to 192 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 6-1-26

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June 1st, 2026

“I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.”

L.M. Montgomery (Canadian Author; November 30th, 1874 to April 24th, 1942)

Encountering Hestia

“House ordering is my prayer, and when I have finished my prayer is answered. And bending, stooping, scrubbing, purifies my body as prayer doesn’t.”

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

“Hestia, the vulnerable domestic spirit. We may not have known her name, but we have felt her move through us when we experience pleasure in our daily round.”

“Three thousand years ago in ancient Greece, Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, guardian of family life and the temple. It was to Hestia that women turned for protection and inspiration so that they might, as an act of worship, transform their dwelling places into homes of beauty and comfort. Hestia was one of the twelve Olympians in classical Greek mythology, But she is the least known of all the deities, and there are no legends about her the privilege of sitting in the center of their celestial home so that she might receive the best offerings from mortals. While the other gods and goddesses were personified in sculpture and paintings, Hestia was not rendered in human form. Instead, her spiritual presence was honored as an eternal flame burning on a round hearth.”

“The goddess Hestia’s presence in house and temple was central to everyday life.”

Jean Shinola Bolen (American Psychiatrist; 1936)

“My reverence in the daily round is my morning meditation and sets the tone of my day.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 188 to 191 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 5-31-26

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May 31st, 2026

Child’s Play: Introducing a Touch of Whimsey and Wit to Your Surroundings

“Oh, the fun of arriving at a house and feeling the spark that tells you that you are going to have a good time.”

Mark Hampton (American Interior Designer, Writer & Illustrator)

“May has been a fun month to rediscover my authentic style in all veins of my life.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 184 to 188 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 5-30-26

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May 30th, 2026

Finders, Keepers: The Fun of Foraging

“The whole thrill of junking is that you just know the next table will have what you’ve been looking for all your life.”

Mary Randolph Carter (Author)

“1. Always remember and claim that Divine Abundance is your only reality and that Divine Abundance will richly manifest itself for you in the perfect purchase at the perfect price if it is for your highest good.”

“2. Always ask, ‘Is this the best you can do?’ It’s a friendly way of bargaining and you never know.”

“3. Always know what you’re going to do with the item when you get it home. …Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s your bargain,”

“4. Always set yourself a fixed limit of what you’re going to spend for guilt-free shopping. …Always bring cash it helps control your spending.”

“It’s not about cost or provenance. You make a connection with something. You want to give it a home and a new life.”

Mary Randolph Carter (Author)

“Freely foraging without a direct focus allows me to see everything as a possibility and then I follow my intuition to guide me in my next treasure find.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 183 to 184 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 5-29-26

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May 29th, 2026

Favorite Things: Enjoying Cherished Collections

“Each item in a collection has its own story, its own memory—the search, the day you bought it, who you were with, the vacation…”

Tricia Guild (British Designer; 1946) & Elizabeth Wilhide (Author & Novelist)

“One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach, One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.”

Anne Morrow Lindbergh (American Writer & Aviator; June 22nd, 1906 to February 7th, 2001)

“I know that I will be remembered as authentic and love possessed as BEing in my life in every moment allows me to suck every last drop of wonderfulness this life has offered each one of us as a gift. Snatch it and never let go!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 181 to 183 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 5-28-26

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May 28th, 2026

By Love Possessed

“Your possessions express your personality. Few things, including clothes, are more personal than your cherished ornaments. The pioneer women, who crossed a wild continent clutching their treasures to them, knew that a clock, a picture, a pair of candlesticks meant home, even in the wilderness.”

Good Housekeeping (August 1952)

“I believe our possessions can be very revealing, offering insights into our personalities in intimate and illuminating ways. I believe surrounding ourselves with objects that speak to our souls can bring us authentic moments of pleasure. But I do not believe our possessions define us. Instead, I believe it’s what you love that expresses the authentic woman you are, not what you own.”

“Today I wish for you, as I wish for myself, that when our authentic adventure comes to a close, we can also be remembered as being by love possessed.”

“I know that I will be remembered as authentic and love possessed as BEing in my life in every moment allows me to suck every last drop of wonderfulness this life has offered each one of us as a gift. Snatch it and never let go!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 178 to 181 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 5-27-26

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May 27th, 2026

An Interior Vision Inventory

“We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us.”

Winston Churchill (Statesman & Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; November 30th, 1874 to January 24th, 1965)

“I think I am my home mold and shape one another.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 177 to 178 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 5-26-26

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May 26th, 2026

Let Passion Be Your Decorator

“Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.”

David Easton (Canadian-American Political Scientist; June 24th, 1917 to July 19th, 2014)

“…discovering your authentic decorating style is very similar to the creative stages of writing a book. A book may look inanimate, but like a home, it lives, breathes, and expresses your being.”

“…we need to bring a sense of passion to our work. Let passion be your muse, the authentic decorator. Let her guide and teach you to trust your instincts. Aspire to live surrounded only by those things that you passionately love. Be patient: a magnum opus can take a lifetime to create.”

“I can’t paint. I can’t write. I can’t sing. But I can decorate and run a house, and light it, and heat it, and have it like a living thing…”

Elsie de Wolfe (American Actress; December 20th, 1865 to July 12th, 1950)

“I believe a home reveals who dwells within, so make it a haven!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 175 to 177 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 5-25-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

May 25th, 2026

Passion: The Authentic Muse

“What is passion? It is surely the becoming of a person.”

John Boorman (Filmmaker; January 18th, 1933)

“Passion, after all, means the abandonment of reason in the reckless pursuit of pleasure…”

“Passion is wild, chaotic, unpredictable. Permissive. Excessive. Obsessive.”

“…passion is the muse of authenticity. It’s the primordial, pulsating energy that infuses all of life, the numinous presence made known with every beat of our hearts.”

“Every day offers us another opportunity to live passionate lives rather than passive ones, if we will bear witness to passion’s immutable presence in the prosaic. If we will stop denying ourselves pleasure.”

“Passion is holy—a profound Mystery that transcends and transforms through rapture. We need to accept that a sacred fire burns within, whether we’re comfortable with this truth or not. Passion is part of Real Life’s package because we were created by Love, for Love, to Love. If we do not give outward expression to our passion, we will experience self-immolation—the spontaneous combustion of our souls.”

“The only sin passion can commit is to be joyless.”

Dorothy L. Sayers (English Novelist & Playwright; June 13th, 1893 to December 17th, 1957)

“I must not be a sinner as I live passionately, love passionately and thrive passionately.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 174 to 175 of 501.

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