Dreaming of a Life in Provence

Bonjour and welcome to the loveProvence blog,

Perhaps you dream of a garden where the lavender grows waist high, scenting bare tanned legs as you pass. Or of a fragrant herb patch to tend each morning, before the heat of the day sets in, with cats about your ankles and flowering thyme underfoot... 

 My whole life my heart wanted to live somewhere that feels this way, surrounded by nature and far from the city's noise. But my mind firmly insisted otherwise. It's all too easy to get conditioned into believing that to get ahead in life we have to pedal hard and play the ladder-climbing game. Yes, this tactic can earn us a good living but I've found it rarely brings true joy.

With the enforced pause of recent world events came a period for us all to take stock and re-evaluate what matters and what does/doesn't make the cut in life. For me that's meant taking a step back to reassess what makes for true happiness, what makes for a life well-lived.

I dream of going back to basics, reconnecting with nature (a state we all came from) to rediscover a sense of wonder at the beauty of life and all it's joyful possibilities. I've promised myself no hair shirts or turnip broth! Just a simple life spent in nature, in tune with the rhythm of seasons, acting as custodians to a small patch of this planet.

"Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? " - Mary Oliver

This gorgeous quote by poet Mary Oliver hits me hard every time - inspiring new bravery and urging the future version of me down a path of adventure and curiosity. At 48 I know I'm no spring chicken. I know over half of my life is already gone, and I don't have time left to waste. 

Will you resolve with me to go all-in and make something of your one wild and precious life?

I've made a short tick list of elements I wish to include in this intentional and 'precious life' of mine:

• Number one has surely got to be to live in a mediterranean climate, making possible the longed for 'outdoor lifestyle'.
• Number two is to settle in a place of outstanding natural beauty, where precious natural resources are protected from developments and desecrations.
• Number three is to have family and friends around to share in the magic of it all.

This is my simple life plan, moving forwards, now that my boys have nearly all flown the nest.

Will you share with me, in the comments section below, your #1 goal? What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

If you're new to the blog (as I am), know that I write it with escapism in mind. I hope it'll be an interesting read, perhaps an insightful one at times, but above all else, I hope it takes you away to a lovely place, even if only for a moment or two. It's a blog that celebrates the happier things in life, that takes the time to appreciate them for what they are, and welcomes you in with arms open wide. It means the world to me that you're reading this, because I wrote it for you.

Thank you from the peaks of my heart for joining this journey. 

Onwards