The Positives and Negatives of Rituals and Routines

I’ve done a bit of thinking recently on rituals and routines. The differences between the two, and the positives and negatives of both.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthJune 28, 2023cultureComment

How the Obsession with Monetizing Hurts Us

Even the suggestion that you should not spend your time and energy on something without monetizing it significantly reduces the value of the activity.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthJune 21, 2023business, culture Comments

What to See and Do in Lausanne, Switzerland

I’ve lived in Lausanne several years now, and I finally feel I’ve done and seen enough to have a few favorites and a few go-to handy recommendations.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthJune 14, 2023Lausanne, Switzerland, travel, culture, historyComment

Month-in-Review Highlights: May 2023

My goals for the year included a yoga event of some kind. As of the end of May, I’ve now attended one of the two I’ve scheduled. The question: What did I think?

JournalLeslie FarnsworthJune 7, 2023goals, postmortemComment

The Problem with “Yes And:” Sometimes the Right Answer is “No”

If you say “yes and” to everything presented, including projects and ideas and even opinions, you don’t protect your own values and wants and projects and visions.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthMay 31, 2023culture, business, happinessComment

What I’d Like to Read: Novels with Older Main Characters

I want to read more novels about people who’ve gone through the stages after childhood, youth, and the twenties into full-on adulthood.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthMay 24, 2023reading, literature, books, culture Comments

Tips for a Better Travel Experience to Egypt

A few universal tips I’ve gleaned could help other travelers prepare for their Egyptian vacations through knowing what to expect and how to navigate certain situations.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthMay 17, 2023travel, cultureComment

How to “Go Local” as a Tourist

Yet if you want to go a little deeper into exploring your destination by getting a feel of the life in that place, here’s how to find genuine opportunities!

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthMay 10, 2023travel, cultureComment

Month-in-Review Highlights: April 2023

April didn’t go as planned, but in entirely different ways than March’s derailment.

JournalLeslie FarnsworthMay 3, 2023postmortem, goalsComment

The Moving Target of Language Fluency

I’d just assumed, as I believe do most of us, that a person reaches a given point at which she’s just fluent and—a-ha!—goal reached. You’ve made it.

MigratingLeslie FarnsworthApril 26, 2023French, language learning Comments

The Wisdom of Knowing Where to Let Go and Where to Commit

In letting certain things go and in committing to others, we create more space and generate more energy for what lights us up and brings our best selves to the world.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthApril 19, 2023happiness Comments

Books I've Read: Q1 2023

In rough chronological order, check out the books I read in the first three months of 2023, with my favorites in bold.

JournalLeslie FarnsworthApril 12, 2023books, literature, readingComment

Month-in-Review Highlights: March 2023

So much for how I thought March was going to go.

JournalLeslie FarnsworthApril 5, 2023goals, postmortem, coronavirus diaries Comments

What Happens When We Don’t Feel Understood?

What long-term psychological dangers exist for people who feel they cannot communicate and cannot manage to make others understand them?

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthMarch 29, 2023language learning, French, culture, expat Comments

Places to Vacation (Other than Paris!) in France

Many people get stuck when trying to plan a vacation to France that goes beyond Paris. Where else can you go in France? And what can you expect while there?

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthMarch 22, 2023France, travel Comments

The Coronavirus Diaries: The Third Anniversary Edition

I’ve put off drafting notes for this third anniversary edition of the advent of COVID-19 in the western world because I couldn’t believe that I really needed to continue to mull over the pandemic.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthMarch 15, 2023coronavirus diariesComment

What to Eat in Lausanne

I have a few food favorites in Lausanne—a list to which I continue to add and update as I explore.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthMarch 8, 2023food, culture, travel, Switzerland Comments

Month-in-Review Highlights: February 2023

I’ve just returned home from over half the month of February in Washington, D.C. But! Before I left, I did get quite a lot accomplished.

JournalLeslie FarnsworthMarch 1, 2023goals, postmortem, France, writing, exerciseComment