Tag: Mindfulness

My Abundant Life 7-25-26

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July 25th, 2026

Opening a Door That Separates Two Worlds

“There are voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Essayist, May 25th, 1803 to April 27th, 1882)

“It’s impossible to experience solitude regularly for any extended length of time without personal passions and authentic longing surging to the surface of your awareness. Once you embarked on the search for your own authentic style, followed the wisdom of your own heart and have seen the results begin to blossom in your life, you realize that solitude cracks open the door that separates two worlds: the life we lead today and the life we yearn for so deeply.”

“..would not exchange her solitude for anything. Never again be forced to move to the rhythm of others.”

Tillie Olsen (American Writer; January 14th, 1912 to January 1st, 2007)

“…once we learn to respect and cherish our need for solitude, opportunities will arrive in which we can learn to nourish our imaginations and nurture our souls.”

“Begin slowly but resolutely. Take comfort in knowing that even stolen moments of solitude–quarter-hour increments–eventually can add up to a lifetime of serenity. Be patient.”

“No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer it has chosen.”

Minor White (American Photographer; July 9th, 1908 to June 24th, 1976)

“I used to steal moments and now I schedule them into my day as part of my well-being.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 271 to 272 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

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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 7-23-26

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July 23rd, 2026

Snatch Stolen Moments of Solitude

“She was not accustomed to taste the joys of solitude except in company.”

Edith Wharton (American Writer & Designer, August 20th, 1938 to November 30th, 2022)

“I have learned to carve out quiet–alone–uninterrupted time and my husband knows to honor it!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 268 to 270 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 7-22-26

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July 22nd, 2026

Neglect Not The Gifts Within You

“She endured. And survived. Marginally, perhaps, but it is not required of us that we live well.”

Anne Cameron (Canadian Novelist & Poet, August 20th, 1938 to November 30th, 2022)

“Oh, yes it is! We may come back to enjoy another life–and I’m open to that possibility–but until I know for sure, I don’t want to waste the one I’m living right now. I’ve endured. And survived. And I’ve lived marginally, but living well is all it’s cracked up to be.”

“…open time, with no obligations except toward the inner world and what is going on there.”

May Sarton (Belgian-American Novelist & Poet; May 3rd, 1912 to July 16th, 1995)

“Deliberately seeking solitude–quality time spent away from family and friends–may seem selfish. It is not. Solitude is as necessary for our creative spirits to develop and flourish as are sleep and food for our bodies to survive.”

“It is a difficult lesson to learn today–to leave one’s friends and family and deliberately practice the art of solitude for an hour or a day or a week… And yet, once it is done, I find there is a quality to being alone that is incredibly precious. Life rushes back into the void, richer, more vivid, fuller than before.”

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

“I have always yearned for solitude to quiet the bustle of life so I could consider the inner voice inside me. Quiet contemplation has always been an attractive vice.

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 267 to 268 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 7-21-26

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July 21st, 2026

The Importance of Solitude

“If women were convinced that a day off or an hour of solitude was a reasonable ambition, they would find a way of attaining it. As it is, they feel so unjustified in their demand that they rarely make the attempt.”

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

“I want to be left alone.”

Greta Garbo (Swedish-American Film Actress; September 18th, 1905 to April 15th, 1990)

“I believe that it’s essential for busy women, by which I mean all of us, to pause a moment–this moment–to reconsider the entire subject of solitude. Too many of us approach time alone as if it were a frivolous, expendable luxury rather than a creative necessity.”

“Certain springs are tapped only when we are alone. The artist knows he must be alone to create; the writer, to work out his thoughts; the musician to compose; the saint, to pray. But women need solitude in order to find again te true essence of themselves… The problem is not entirely in finding the room of one’s own, the time alone, difficult and necessary as this is. The problem is more how to still the soul in the midst of its activities. In fact the problem is how to feed the soul.”

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

“In the past I was horrible at this and always placed myself last on the list. I am gradually putting myself first. I am not willing to say I am being selfish because I do so. Instead, I am worthy and deserve to put myself first and find the time to be creative and fully self-expressed.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 266 to 267 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

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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 7-19-26

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July 19th, 2026

Carving Out Time for Personal Pursuits That Bring Contentment

“It is the soul’s duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion.”

Rebecca West (British Author, December 21st, 1892 to March 15th, 1953)

“How about an answer we haven’t heard before? How about, ‘My authentic passions will have to wait until I’m ready to admit that pursuing them is essential for my happiness?’ How about, ‘I haven’t learned yet how to put myself on the list of priorities?’ Notice I didn’t suggest putting yourself first; I just want to get you on the list.”

“It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good and we must hunger after them.”

Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) (English Novelist & Poet; November 22nd, 1819 to December 22nd, 1880)

“Space and time to nurture our creativity may be one of our authentic hungers. Perhaps we think that only food, drink, work, sex, shopping, or pills can reduce the gnawing to a dull throb. But maybe if we took an hour a day to paint, to plot, or to throw pots we wouldn’t be in pain–physical or psychic.”

“I think the point of nurturing authentic hungers is to learn to truly BE present. This IS the juice of life!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 264 to 265 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 7-18-26

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July 18th, 2026

Loaves and Fishes, Part II

“Hospitality is one form of worship.”

The Talmud

“One of the most important lessons of the miracle of the loaves and fishes is that the bounty was shared. We need to remind ourselves that good times need to be shared as well, especially if we want more of them in our lives.”

“Sharing is Caring!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 263 to 264 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 7-17-26

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July 17th, 2026

Loaves and Fishes, Part I

“We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.”

Matthew 14:17

“When we don’t get it, it’s usually because we can’t interpret the outward experience as it is relayed over the interior intercom. We can’t process it in our souls. What’s really happening in our outward lives is somehow taking place in a foreign language that we don’t understand. So we either assume that the outward manifestation is reality (which it isn’t necessarily), or we keep having to repeat the experience until it starts to make sense–rather like learning a foreign language by total immersion.”

“It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another–it’s one damn thing over and over.”

Edna St. Vincent (American Poet & Playwright; February 22nd, 1892 to October 19th, 1950)

“But speaking in tongues is a gift of Spirit. The language of the heart is longing; the language of the mind is rationalizing, the language of emotions is feeling. Spirit speaks them all. Today I would love for all of us to get it at last: not to focus on what we don’t have, but to be grateful for what we do. For us to accept, give thanks, bless, and share. For us not to hoard or hold back for fear that there won’t be enough. Because Spirit lacks for nothing.”

“As long as you have a few loaves and fishes, and know what to do with them, all you have is all you need.”

“I have spoken in tongues during moments of true elation. As someone with synesthesia, I interpret the world through color via emotions and authentic expression by myself and others. Blue is my favorite flavor of color, so if you occur blue to me, you are golden! Secret: My now husband appeared to me with blue aura the very first day we met. It was meant to be!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 261 to 263 of 501.

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

My Abundant Life 7-16-26

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July 16th, 2026

A Seasonal Feast: The Joy of Anticipation

“Why is any day better than another, when all the daylight in the year is from the sun?

By the Lord’s decision they were distinguished, and he appointed the different seasons and feasts;

some of them he exalted and hallowed, and some of them he made ordinary days.”

Ecclesiasticus (also called Sirach) 33:7-9

“The joy of seasonal cooking is the simplest of pleasures, but one of the most overlooked. It brings harmony and rhythm to our days, demonstrating with gentle wisdom that simplicity and abundance are soul mates. The joy of seasonal foods transforms even the ordinary days at the table into hallowed moments, calling to mind the Book of Proverbs’ wisdom that ‘the cheerful heart has a continual feast.'”

“Summer is when Mother Nature shows off, proving that the Universe is not stingy. Gardens and farmers’ markets now overflow with the goodness of the earth. Now, while the summer is offering bountiful home economic lessons, is the perfect time to reconsider how you cook throughout the year.”

“‘There is no season such delight can bring,’ the English Poet William Browne believed, ‘as summer, autumn, winter and the spring.’ The simply abundant joy of seasonal foods will convince you that life can be a continual feast at Mother Nature’s table.”

“I know that I am happier now than I have ever been. With that happiness comes much laughter. My cheerful home creates a feast for my enjoyment. Truly extraordinary!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 260 to 261 of 501.

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