conscious living Archives

I’ve long been a member (and moderator) of the Yahoo Group, French Chic. Participation has slowed in recent years, probably because of Facebook and other social media options. But several of us are hoping to revive the group because it has, in the past, served an important role in our lives.

I’ve been doing some thinking about our group motto:

A French woman consciously designs her life, and makes daily choices to carry out that design.

I need to give some thought to consciously designing my life and I definitely need to be more intentional about those daily choices. You’ll no doubt be hearing more about all this but for today I’m going to be “consciously” cleaning my house. 😉

I’m one of those who functions best and is happiest in a clean and tidy environment. Not obsessively so – I’ve learned to live with less than perfection. And I’m in no way a minimalist. I like to see evidence of life being lived in a house. But this week has involved way more than my usual amount of time away from home and it shows. This was also a poor time for me to take on the project of washing and ironing my kitchen curtains. I’ve only got one of the three windows done.

So I’m going to put on some music – probably my French music Spotify playlist, La Musique, to start. Then I’ll go about bringing order to my home. I’ve also planned a nice dinner:

Aperitif

First course: tossed mixed green salad with homemade vinaigrette

Main course: baked chicken breasts with herbs de provence, garlic mashed potatoes, whiskey-glazed carrots

Dessert: something made with apples (perhaps an apple tarte?) and French press coffee

David has had a crazy week and we are both looking forward to a peaceful evening together. We are going to watch “The Great Gatsby” and then perhaps do a little stargazing before retiring for the night. We’ve had a lot of fun trips, activities, parties, etc. recently but both of us are (more than) ready for a quiet evening alone!

*Picture at top of post used to be on the French Chic home page before Yahoo changed the page layout requiring a horizontal photo. I don’t know who to credit for the photo but I’ll try to find out.

For the past several years I’ve belonged to the Yahoo Group, French Chic. In fact, I first joined its earlier incarnation, Je Ne Sais Quois. Over the years I’ve vacillated between being an active participant and no mail status. Sometimes life gets busy and I just don’t seem to find the time to participate but it usually isn’t long before I begin missing the inspiration it provides.

The motto of the group is, “A French woman consciously designs her life, and makes daily choices to carry out that design.” And then posits the questions: When was the last time you did that? Are you doing that today?

Every time I read that I am reminded that I should be the director of my life. I sometimes imagine myself as a character in a film so that word choice is deliberate. But how seriously do I take the notion of actually designing and directing my life? Do I live intentionally or merely allow life to mindlessly sweep me along a river of chores, tasks, and errands? I’d like to say it’s the former but way too often I’m afraid it’s the latter.

And that’s why I’m back to reading French Chic and why I started writing French Friday posts. I’m hoping to receive the inspiration I need to truly consider how I spend my days. Perhaps I will even be able to convince myself that I can, indeed, finish my novel.

What about you? Do you have a vision for how you want to live your life? Are you consciously making that happen? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

French Friday ~ Designing My Life

French Friday…An Intentional Life