Bisnenti of the Veneto

If any of your ancestors lived near the Montello, in the Province of Treviso in the Veneto region of Italy, they may have been part of the Bisnenti.  They were the people I often think about when thinking about the history of Venice and the Venetian Republic.  Do you know anything about the Bisnenti?

Journeys, Journaling and Personal Development

Which is more important to your personal development:

a) Going on a journey?
b) Writing a journal?

Perhaps photography is an important aspect of your personal development, both when you go on journeys and when you write a journal.

Are your own photographs more important to you than the pictures taken by other people?  Do you mainly look at pictures of yourself when reflecting upon your development, and your journey through life?

Reflections on Living Peacefully

Living peacefully, travelling thoughtfully and understanding deeply can be difficult when interacting with, or merely observing, the world as it is perceived by others.  This can be especially so through the mainstream media, or in the presence of people who do not live life in a peaceful way..

Sharing creatively can be enhanced by stimulating conversations from time to time.  However, many forms of creativity can be achieved most successfully as a consequence of private reflections.  Time away from the mainstream media and noisy people can be especially helpful.

How do you perceive the world, and why?

Science and Knowledge

Do you think of science as a quiet topic or as something quite noisy?

When I was at school, science always seemed to be very boring from my point of view. It did not appear to me to be a particularly friendly or peaceful topic, especially when taught in a way that did not build on my natural inquisitiveness and aesthetic sense of wonder

Perhaps I needed something more relevant and pleasant than the rote learning of theory, the cutting up of small creatures, and the mixing of strange chemicals.  One of the ways in which science has become more interesting to me in recent years is through learning about the history of science. I enjoy discovering the ways that knowledge has developed in the minds of individuals through time.  It is why I like exploring history.

A quiet discovery is much more pleasant than loud noises, strange smells and the visual appearance of internal organs.  I now take frequent excursions to Scientia* as that is where I am sometimes able to overcome my own ignorance.

Science gives us signposts yet we have to choose a destination for ourselves.

*Online registrations are now required before visitors here are able to read my Continual Journeys blog.   All you need to do is send a request by email.  Please state name of the blog/blog post you would like to read, and perhaps a reason why.  I may then provide you with short-term access.

Peace, Privacy and Security

For peace of mind, I have decided to restrict access to my other three blogs.  Thoughtful readers are usually those familiar with Quieter Living, and I really only write for the benefit of thoughtful people.

I consider myself to be a private person even though I have frequently published my various writings, under a variety of pen names.  Setting the boundaries of the public and private aspects of my life has been very important to me.  

Private information is often closely associated with our emotions, and with our economic and physical security.  This especially applies when we travel or move residence, whether by choice or obligation.  Such topics have been explored on my Continual Journeys blog.

Identity is something we all need to respect and protect in this digital age, especially with so many passwords to remember.  I have explored the topic of identity quite extensively on my By Any Other Name blog.  Even before beginning to write publicly about my family history, on my Ancestors Within blog, I felt a certain apprehension.

Various commercial and non-commercial interactions can be quite exclusive but also somewhat communal.  What do you believe it means to be a private person?  What sorts of actions do you consider to be intrusive?  How do you express a need for privacy?  Perhaps you even think it is an invasion of your privacy to be asked these sorts of questions.

Knowledge, Authenticity and Creativity

Recently I mentioned, on my Ancestors Within blog, that my By Any Other Name blog is now less accessible.  If you click on a link to a blog post in By Any Other Name, you may therefore receive a message saying you have not (yet) been invited to read it.  If you would you like to have continued access to that blog, you may like to send me an email request.

If you have already explored By Any Other Name, you will know that it is about identity, knowledge, self-knowledge, authenticity, creativity and courtesy.   If you ever reflect upon such topics, are there any books you have found to be helpful references?

On my Continual Journeys blog, I have recently written about social entrepreneurial publishing.  I have often written about writing, both there and here.  Are you a writer or publisher at all?  Are you a retailer of books?  Are you an editor or simply a seeker of truth?

Reflective Self Discoveries

Do you need peace and quiet whenever you wish to make some useful self discoveries?  Does self reflection often require a few moments to compare your life with that of other people?  If you compared yourself with me, what would you see?

As a social scientist by training, with a media background, I'm living in Australia now but worked in London for a while in the 1980s.

I currently live in a place I refer to as suburban lawnlandia, in a mostly dry and dusty town I prefer to describe as Dorothea in the Wilderness. Unlike my neighbours, my garden has no lawn. My way of life is not particularly suburban as I like to live in a rural way in an urban environment.

I grew up in small, rural communities but have spent much of my adulthood living in cities - and escaping from cities into more natural places.

I'm now a social entrepreneur whose activities have so far included being a book publisher (only of non-fiction - sorry budding novelists), writer, educator, policy analyst, consultant, philanthropist, and initiator of all sorts of exploratory projects.

You may know that I try to live peacefully, travel thoughtfully, understand deeply, and share creatively... sometimes all at the same time.

The Quiet Entrepreneur

The quiet achievers of the world are often relatively unknown.  They improve the lives of others without making too much of a noise about it.  I have been researching, and writing about, socially and environmentally beneficial enterprises for some time now.  You will find an overview mainly on my Continual Journeys blog.

Here are links to a few short blog posts to introduce you to my investigations:

Travels of a social entrepreneur

Life, work and travel

The journey through life



In 2009, I came across a couple of interesting articles. They might be regarded as somewhat insensitive in parts, but I think they may also help to boost creativity, self-esteem and a sense of purpose for anyone looking for a new direction in life.  They were on my Continual Journeys blog but I think they may be more suitable here now:

10 reasons you should never get a job

Making money in a recession


If you have managed to avoid being an employee, underemployed or unemployed recently, do you consider yourself to be a quiet entrepreneur?

Preferences for Quiet Reading

One of my favourite activities is to sit quietly, undisturbed, with a book I find interesting.  Do we have a few reading preferences in common?

On my Continual Journeys blog, I have written about travel books, for example.  My ideas about what constitutes a travel book may be quite different from your own.

Meaningfulness in Relationships

If you have ever wondered about the meaning of life, you may also have wondered about the meaning of your relationships with other people.  Which of your relationships are most meaningful to you, and why?  What is a meaningful relationship?  How many meaningful relationships is it possible to maintain in a meaningful way?

Meaningfulness may have something to do with attachment to times, places, experiences, emotions, histories and cultures.  Does the above picture have any meaning to you?  If it does, its meaning for you may be different than its meaning for me.

In your relationship with people, do you know if you share the same or similar meaningfulness?

Too Many Activities?

Since beginning my blogs, I've been trying to pin down my "industry" from the list provided on the blogger profile page and have found it quite difficult to choose which one applies most accurately to me.

I could include arts, business services, communications or media, consulting, education, environment, internet, marketing, museums and libraries, non-profit, publishing, science, tourism... all at once!

Mysteries and Meanings

Mysteries can often agitate our minds and make us feel miserable.  Very few people are able to cope well with the unknown!  How do you respond to the uncertainties and doubts of life, with feelings of strangeness and ignorance, and with an overwhelming sense of the immensity of the universe?

Have you ever thought it worthwhile to search for meaning?  Do you believe love to be one of the greatest mysteries in the universe?

Can solving mysteries lead to a better way of life?

Calmness Without Superstitions

My recently departed father-in-law was not a superstitious person at all.  When he was a child, he lived in a rather grand house in Australia and had a reasonably good education.  His parents were religious, but not necessarily superstitious.

In exploring the family history, I contacted the current owners of the house a while ago, which is now part of a school.  I was told that during renovations a few years ago, a child's toy was found underneath the floorboards.  The people at the school wondered if the toy had belonged to my father-in-law, so I showed him a photograph of it.

Although he was a man with an excellent memory and could accurately tell you how much something would have cost in 1935, or the characteristics of someone he knew in 1932, my father-in-law did not recognise the toy as ever being his.

The toy was rather roughly made by hand.  My father-in-law was an only child of relatively affluent parents and his toys were mostly of high quality.  But I think I have found the answer as to why the toy was under the floorboards.  It was probably put there while the house was being built in the 19th century.

Superstitions can seem quaint when we look at them though the eyes of reason.  Life can be so much calmer, happier, safer and more rational when it is without superstitions and other unnecessary fears of the unknown, and the unknowable.

One Idea an Hour

If an idea is worth thinking about, it is worth devoting some time towards.

If you could devote an hour to an important topic today, which one would you choose?

If you could devote eight hours a day towards thinking, which eight topics would you choose?

Quietly Working

One of my interests is in politely challenging groupthink.  I refuse to spend my time in noisy, crowded places, especially if those places are offices.  I will not work anywhere with a radio or television blaring away.  My work environment must be tailored to suit my own needs.

Being a reasonably successful and perhaps even a highly creative person, I am usually able to state my own workplace requirements.  Peace and quiet, with no interruptions, are essential if I am to achieve my best.

A New York Times article to think about

About 20 minutes a day of collaboration is usually enough for me.  A few excellent ideas gathered from a carefully selected group of interesting minds does not take long.  Anything else is mindless chatter and clamorous, intrusive mediocrity.

Are You a Happy Introvert?

Being understood, understanding others, and understanding ourselves, can often lead to happiness.  This especially applies to people who have a different way of thinking than the majority of those around them.  Being an introvert frequently means being in a minority amongst extroverts, even though being introverted is often a very good sign of being intelligent, considerate and normal.

Via Blue Skies

I much prefer a blue sky to a grey one, though a pink tinge in an early morning or evening is also very pleasant, as is a brilliant orange glow at sunset.  Blue skies often lift my mood, regardless of what else may be happening.  Perhaps it is because I spent so many of my earlier years under the grey skies of Britain.

Away from the Chatter

The essence of truth, and of peace, can often be found in silence, stillness, and aloneness.  This often means having some time away from the Internet, from crowds, from traffic and the media.

Time for More Reflections

I love making the time to sit quietly and make plans.  Making plans - especially when sitting quietly - is not a lazy thing to do.  It is essential.  It involves reflecting on past challenges and achievements as well as looking towards some sort of future improvement.

A Debt-Free Life

How easy is it for an "average" person, in any society, to have a debt-free life?