Culture – Peregrina

3rd April 20193rd April 2019

Wise Words: A Collection of Quotes from John Muir

I recently read a luminous travelogue/memoir/work of philosophical genius called My First Summer in the Sierra that really struck an almost uncanny chord with me.

Penned by Scottish-American naturalist, John Muir in 1869, the book is basically a personal diary of his experience joining a crew of shepherds on their humble search for good grazing in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.

He was a young man of 31 at the time and intent on finding meaning beyond the mundanities of daily life. And, well, (spoiler alert): he found loads of it in the wilds of North America.

It’s been quite a while since a book resonated as deeply with me. Its pages are properly dog-eared now, stuck full of place-holder post-its and almost entirely covered in pencil marginalia and underlined paragraphs.

So, I decided to jot down some of my favourite quotes right here:

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27th March 201926th March 2019

Playlist: Hazy Autumn Days

Culture, Featured, Personal

Looking back into the Peregrina playlist archives, it’s evident that – for me – any change of season calls for a soundtrack.

So, it’s hardly surprising that I found myself collecting songs again recently to match the mellow golden glow of Autumn. A season after my own heart.

I guess the reason I love it so much is simply because of its subtlety. The way it inhabits the in-between with such splendour. How it arrives without fanfare and leaves without wasting time on goodbyes.

I love it for its romance – the soft twirling of leaves and the dramatic sunrise pink streaks, special gifts for anyone with eyes to see.

It’s also the season that lends itself best to soothing melodies, sultry love songs and slow jams… and who doesn’t love those?

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12th March 201812th March 2018

Fairy tales, folklore and fantastic creatures – my favourite podcasts right now

Culture, Featured

If you don’t know me personally, you probably wouldn’t know that I have a little obsession with fairy tales. Also, folklore, fantasy, myths and legends.

I did my English Literature Honours thesis about the Cinderella story and have a vast array of fairy tales/folk tales/fireside stories/myths/legends etc (including at least 3 volumes of 1001 Arabian Nights) on my bookshelves.

For the past few years, however, this hobby hasn’t received all that much fire from me. Which is fine – I mean we can’t pursue everything all the time can we?

But as I was looking for new podcasts to listen to recently, it suddenly dawned on me: hey! I wonder if there are any good ones about fairy tales out there?

Well, I did a little Google search and, let me tell you, there are loads! Some are obviously better than others, but wading through the masses, I discovered a few that definitely deserved a click on the Subscribe button.

Here are a few of my favourites right now:

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22nd June 201718th January 2018

Playlist: Girl power

Culture, Personal

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year for us here in the southern hemisphere. And also the longest night. Mid-winter.

It’s been cold and stormy and I keep finding myself closing up tight into a bud, instead of blooming where I’m planted (as the motivational wallpaper on my work computer says I should).

Self-care comes in many forms: exercise, meditation, craft and music. This week, music has been my physician of choice. And the songs that seemed to grab me most had one thing in common: strong female vocals shot through with vulnerability and a good measure of fun.

Maybe you’ll enjoy it too…

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16th May 201718th January 2018

Words to live by: Mediocrity

Culture

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s probably the fact that mediocrity is the devil. Right?

If you aren’t constantly striving to reach a glorious plateau safely beyond the claws of the dreaded ‘M’ word, you’re doing it wrong.

After all, we’re made of stardust and should never settle for anything less than luminescence. Or what?

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6th March 201718th January 2018

Podcast episodes I’ve enjoyed lately

Culture

Remember in August last year I shared my 5 favourite podcasts with you?

Well, seven months down the line and I’m more obsessed with *listening* to stories than ever before, regularly discovering new gems to add to my weekly playlist.

Instead of introducing you to a batch of my new favourite podcasts, however, I’d rather share a few of the individual episodes that have really captured my imagination lately and stuck around in my head and my heart… for various reasons.

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28th November 201618th January 2018

My sultry summer playlist

Culture

It’s safe to say summer has officially arrived in Cape Town and suddenly everything smells like sunscreen.

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28th September 201618th January 2018

Quotes that caught my eye

Culture

I’ve told you this before and I’ll probably tell you again: I’m a collector of words and sometimes I like to curate them too.

Here are a few pleasing turns of phrase – some inspiring, some bittersweet and some downright delicious – that have popped up in my reading radar over the past few months.

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23rd August 201618th January 2018

Just tell me a story: 5 podcasts I can’t get enough of

Culture, Personal

If there’s one thing I love more than anything else in the entire world, it’s a good story.

And, if you’ll allow me to brag just for a second here, I’m really good at sniffing them out wherever I can.

So, when I finally got round to listening to Serial Season 1 – the who dunnit drama that got the entire world tuning into podcasts again – sometime last year and devoured it at a furious pace, it didn’t take me very long to find similar sorts of audio thrills elsewhere.

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17th February 201618th January 2018

Note to self

Culture, Personal

For days like today when it seems like it’s all crazy, it’s all false, it’s all a dream… It’s alright. (As mewithoutYou so eloquently named their fourth studio album)