El encanto cotidiano: Un año de esplendor y sencillez

by Sarah Ban Breathnach, Sabate Vargas Henan Gurgui Matinez Huete Monserrat (Translator)

In her first major book since Something More, #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah Ban Breathnach takes readers to a new level of personal fulfillment and spiritual awareness as they learn to rediscover and savor the sensual experience of daily life.

Organized as a saunter through the year, Romancing the Ordinary celebrates the spirituality of the senses, seasonally and monthly. Ban Breathnach believes that women are endowed not with five senses but with seven. In addition to rediscovering sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch, readers will come to cherish their sense of "knowing" -- a woman's intuitive sense -- and "wonder," her sense of rapture and reverence.

Writing in the style so beloved by her millions of readers, and drawing on myth, literature, film, music, and drama, Ban Breathnach encourages each woman to discover what moves her to tears, makes her blood rush to her head, her heart skip a beat, and her soul sigh. Interwoven with the text are seasonal indulgences intended to restore weary feminine souls -- recipes, rituals, decorating, fashion, and gardening hints. By encouraging her to delight in the often overlooked gifts of every day -- from the aroma of simmering homemade spaghetti sauce to the sensation of freshly laundered linen against bare skin -- Romancing the Ordinary is sure to help every woman fall in love with Life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Spirituality, Inspirational, Womens, Lifestyle, Mental Health

529 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

In addition to SIMPLE ABUNDANCE, Sarah Ban Breathnach is the author of THE SIMPLE ABUNDANCE JOURNAL OF GRATITUDE, SOMETHING MORE, and MRS. SHARP'S TRADITIONS. She currently resides in California. Please visit her website at www.simpleabundance.com.

Reviews

[Kimberly (Chapter_Adventure) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My go to book when I need a pick me up. It inspires me to love myself and my life and to see the beauty in all things.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is beautifully written and helped me to see the beauty and wonder in the ordinary. Because of this book, I have a much more grateful heart. I read a small section each morning for a year and am sad to be done with it. However, it is a book that I will continue to read over and over when I need a gentle reminder of how blessed my life really is. I'm staring this year with Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance and hope it can lift my heart as this book did. The carrot marmalade torte paradiso recipe was fantastic!

[Helynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Each day should begin and end in the reverence and rapture of wonder," states Sarah Ban Breathnach in this followup to her best-seller Simple Abundance. As I had enjoyed that first book so much, I was eager to read Romancing the Ordinary, and even though I did not find this book quite as inspiring as the Simple Abundance, I still enjoyed it. Breathnach continues with her quest to urge all of us women to indulge and pamper ourselves to achieve maximum inner peace and self-actualization. Since gratitude is the basis to her plan, she also reiterates her charge for each person to find five things per day for which one is grateful. Like Simple Abundance, this book is set up as a year's plan for self-discovery, and is divided into 12 monthly chapters. Instead of 365 short essays, however, this book has about 20 short writings per month. Breathnach's theme is finding the "essenual self;" that is, discovering more about one's authentic self through sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch. (She also notes that women have two extra senses--knowing (I suppose this means intuition), and wonder. "What is a spell?" she asks. "A spell is an organized desire passionately, creatively and personally sent out into the Universe through words and ritual--a three-dimensional prayer that engages all your senses. . . Because the Universe is magical and because you are nothing less than Its personal expression of that magic, spells can be creative catalysts meant to shift the engeretic boundaries of what's possible in your life" (171, 173). Breathnach's favorite of the “essensual” pleasures seems to be olfactory as the essays abound with advice on finding one's signature perfume, relaxing with homemade lavender-rose or rosemary-lemon sachets, and buffing up one's furniture with homemade lavender-linseed oil polish. Of course, taste comes into play a lot, too, with such chapter titles as "Chocolate Becomes You," "Romancing the Salad" and "Pajama Food," in which the author provides such tempting recipes as "Carrot, Marmalade Torte Paradiso," "Grown-Up Girl's Hot Cocoa" (yes, it calls for heavy cream), "Divine Fettucini," "Not Meant to Share Mousse," "Butter-Mulled Cider," "Chantilly Lace on Your Pretty Face"(strawberries and more heavy cream), "There, There Rice Pudding," and madeleines. (The last recipe comes complete with the background on how these little cakes once inspired involuntary memory in Marcel Proust, but Breathnach urges us to eat them just for the sheer pleasure of it).
Other chapters are entitled "Midnight Massage Ritual," "Becoming your Own Courtesan," and "Self-Indulgent Distractions When Bored Waiting." Breathnach discusses at length one of her favorite subjets--making one's home a true expression of oneself (without getting caught up in perfectionism). I was especially inspired by her idea of using the nice items we usually keep packed away as part of our home decor. "Use your real crystal or vintage pressed glass, fine china, or silver not just for dining but in the bathroom, by your desk, as bedroom accessories . . make even the most mundane tasks more pleasurable with the addition of things you genuinely enjoy holding or seeing" (215). (After I read that, small plates from my wedding china came out of storage, and I now keep favorite necklaces on them. Blue goblets and sherbet dishes now hold earrings of a similar color).
In addition, Breathnach is obviously a great reader herself because her book constantly recommends other books that she has enjoyed. On her urging, I am putting on my to-read list, such titles as French Style: How to Think, Shop and Dress Like a French Woman by Veronique Vienne, Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosphers by Leonard Koren and The Power of Style: The Women Who Defined the Art of Living Well by Annette Tapert and Diana Edkins.

[Mtalley2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book back while my husband was in medical school. I bought the book in Roanoke, VA when I was going to my Aunt's Cabin off the Blue Ridge Parkway. I needed the break from life. This was almost a mantra to simplifying the busy life I was living.I still have the pages marked where I made the recipe for Carrot Marmalade Torte Paradiso and Frozen White Hot Chocolate. I love the mint in the frozen White hot chocolate.
On page 288 Bliss Blockers still speak to me when I have to make choices to cut out things or people that like to try my patience.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seems written for a single (better yet divorced) 50-something woman, and that's exactly who Sarah Ban Breathnach was when she wrote it. As a 30-something coupled woman, I can certainly benefit from an "I am enough" message, but I think Sarah was targeting people who might be going through something just as she was.

Some ideas were good - really good/worth writing down - but it got a bit repetitive. It felt like she picked a theme for a month and then just wrote as much as she could about it, whether all that needed saying or not. I think it if were half the length, I'd like it more.

[Bonnie Westmark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been a daily friend and has helped me to live in the moment, attentive and grateful for each blessing. She has a way of opening your heart and mind to all the gifts we are given each day, so often overlooked. She has taught me to take pleasure in tea, squirrels, birds, flowers and every act of kindness, however small. I’ve learned to enjoy my own company and pamper myself with regular pedicures, daily walks in the woods, and quiet meditations. This book has been a gift to my inner soul! It has brought me peace, contentment and joy in daily encounters I would have not even recognized prior to reading this book.

[Sabrina Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me on a journey. I have so much to talk about it that I think I'll just make a video essay lol. Sarah is so poetic with her words, I left reading a chapter feeling happy and inspired. Even when I had a sad day this book seemed to make me feel better. I can't recommend this enough, everyone should read it.

[Granny Swithins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similarly to the original Simple Abundance book, I've been re-reading this one from many years ago, but discovering that I've moved on, life has moved on and the world has moved on. I'm grateful for what I took from it many moons ago, but it really didn't speak to me as much this time around.

[Miss Murder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also need to give up on finishing this one for now - DNF @ 75%. I wasn’t in love trying to go back into it like I was when I first started reading in July. Maybe another time!

[Jemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

[EDIT 8th September 2019:

I tried to read this book again but just fell off the wagon. I feel as though it meant more to me in 2012 than it could in 2019. I wonder if Sarah Ban Breathnach is too preachy, sometimes too Christianity-focused. I'll leave it here for now.]

This book has been a constant companion for me throughout the year. I didn't start it in January - I bought it too late for that - but it has guided me seasonally through the year, teaching me to notice things around me and to take pleasure and appreciation from everyday life. It is particularly aimed at women, just so you know.

I will definitely keep this book and read it once again: if not 2013, but another year in the future. It is full of indulgent recipes, inspirational quotations, and serves as a guide to the hidden splendour of our surroundings. One passage I particularly remember was one about going on a "listening walk", which is basically a walk where you listen to and focus on everything you can hear, without them blending into the background of our lives as we rush on to get to the next place.

Romancing the Ordinary is split by months, and has 25-30 passages within each, so that there is no obligation to read a passage a day, or even every passage, which helps the reader to appreciate the book at their own pace. I can't wait to find more of Breathnach's work.

[Jackie Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've highlighted, written in, and shared many, many snippets from this book on Facebook, in journals and in blog posts. Read at three very different points in my life, so far... 2008, 2013, and starting again now in June 2022. These quotes were "left" here in 2008:
"Like the apple that came to represent Eve's audacity, the sweet flesh of desire is encased in the taut, bittersweet skin of loss." p. 407
"When you are older, you know that the most precious gift you can give another is emotional courage." p. 459

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book you buy, and keep on the nightstand or coffee table. Each chapter is one month of the year, and many ways to honor each season and holidays with simplicity and love. The author wrote this after her divorce from a long marriage (she was married when she wrote Simple Abundance) and I can relate to a lot of her experiences: finding love (of self) and things around you during February, for example. It's a book I just keep picking up even if months go by without reading it. Many great food recipes and "spa" recipes for a sultry, soothing bath, etc... Love this book :)

[Rox librosyanecdotas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro salvo mi vida en una crisis amorosa :).
Llegué a una librería de segunda mano y encontré esta belleza.
Un libro que encanta, tal cual lo dice el título. Cada capítulo corresponde a un mes y en él la autora nos comparte experiencias, nos comparte vivencias y todo tipo de actividades, desde un platillo o elaborar un postre, aromaterapia, meditación, poemas, lecturas. Salvo mi vida. Me permitió conocerme y experimentarme.
Justo ese día debía encontrarlo.

[Elliot · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that really kinda enjoying because the author talks (sometimes) about God and about the Bible and I really liked that because I believe in God and when I read this book without knowing It was kinda boring.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite liked the idea of being mindful of my life.

[Abigail Lavelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a lovely thrift store find! Quite witty and charming. This book is what I imagine reading a magazine would be like... without the advertisements, trends, and consumerism. Instead, she draws on literature, poetry, films, history, vintage photography and artwork, and the other humanities.

Its fairly obvious that she was going through relationship/life challenges when she wrote this book, and, sometimes, she was a bit too "new age" and emotionally eclectic for me. Reflecting on your mental peace too much can be counter intuitive, however, she didn't cross this line enough for it to ruin the book for me.

My one regret reading this book is I wish I would have annotated and dog-eared the pages! I will return to it again to abridge the content I really loved. Romancing the Ordinary offers what social media "slow living" content attempts to; Short stories, recipes I probably won't try (but I'm glad they're there), and the feeling that a more romantic life is more attainable- without lusting over someone else's life.

[Debra Hines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple Abundance is one of my favorite books of all time. Finding that book helped me focus on gratitude and remembering that it is the simple things in life that are most important and to live each day to the fullest with love and gratitude in your heart no matter what your circumstances. I was wowed by the quotes and literary references that Ban Breathnach incorporated into each daily reading. While those same literary references are found in the monthly readings of this compilation, I found it to be considerably less insightful and meaningful. I'd still try most anything written by this author because of my love for Simple Abundance, but I was not wowed by this book, even though I stuck with it the entire year. December, though, contained the best reflections so I'm glad I stuck with it and earned it the 3 rather than 2 stars.

[Sichelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book on the dusty shelves of an old used book store and gifted it to myself for my 33rd birthday. Since then this book has been my constant companion. It’s written in seasonal vignettes, it’s chapters one for each month of the year. I’ll never finish reading it, because I read it all yearlong, year after year. And every year it’s lyrical prose is like a poetic balm to my soul. Apart from the beautiful writing and insightful wisdom of Sarah Ban Breathnach, it also has exercises in personal growth, philosophical pondering, encouragement for the world-weary soul, and some recipes to boot! All in all one of my favorite daily “devotions” I’ve ever found and by far and away one of the best loved books in my home library.

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decided to just finish this up for the year though I just got started with November. I love this book, this is the second time I had read it and that was like twenty years ago for the first reading. Kinda dated with the mentioning of video tapes and stuff but still, the recipes are nice and it's a big comfy book to have around to just look through during the year. I really love the cover art of this one. There is beauty, charm, warmth through the pages and worth having it in my kitchen nook with other comforting books.

[Torrie]

I randomly came across this title a few weeks ago, and it seemed like something that would be right up my alley---a collection of essays and thoughts all about savoring ordinary, daily life. However, I could tell after several pages in that her particular brand of spirituality and writing style was just not going to resonate with me. I did come across a few great quotes from it (that she had quoted from others), but this is one I won't be picking up again.

[Starla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read each of the monthly chapters throughout this year. I enjoyed most of the book.

I felt like there were a lot of other writer's and their works referenced and I couldn't connect with all the topics of living alone.

I would recommend the book. It did have some wonderful moments. Also, the photos at the beginning of each month are stunning.

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a DNF for me. I do think, though, that you should give it a chance, if you think that you may be interested.

I love the concept behind this book, and I love the idea of romancing your everyday, simple life. I just really didn't enjoy the writing in the book, so I didn't want to spend my time trying to get through it.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

key points I took from this:
- appreciating human joy through the senses
- making the most of what you have, especially via resources in the natural world
- avoiding shame around human seduction as a key component of femininity

[Sherri Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed with this book. I did find a few sections interesting. I had loved her first book so it was very disappointing to read this one as it lacked so much the first book had going for it.

[Linda Tomase · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grāmata, kas ir kā biezs sieviešu žurnāls - padomu krājums kā vannoties, skatīties caur logu putenī, dzert kakao, dažādi sevi lutināt un iejūsmināt. Ja tas viss jūs iedvesmo, tā ir īstā grāmata.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read this almost every year. There is a chapter for each month of the year. Really helps me relax and enjoy the simple things in life.

[AraBD · Rating 3 out of 5]

No soy mucho de este tipo de lecturas, por eso me ha costado varios años el terminar el libro, pero quiero compartirlo con una amiga que espero lo disfruté con el inicio del año.

[Patricia Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romancing the ordinary has become a theme in my life because of this book! So many nuggets of wisdom and treasures for the soul!

[Katie Tenkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun essays for each month of the year.