A Slow Walk Through The English Countryside with Jane Austen
Watching the 1995 mini-series Pride and Prejudice never fails to rejuvenate me
I took a day off this week to rest and reflect. I’ve been so busy juggling my many responsibilities and needed some time to finally just be.
I slept in and had a leisurely breakfast first. And then I settled into watch my favorite mini-series on Hulu — Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 version with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth as Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.
My attraction to this mini-series is not necessarily the romance (although I enjoy the slow dance to love of the main characters), but how it makes me feel while I’m watching it.
The slower pace of life, the letter writing, the walking and touring through the gorgeous English countryside, is like a virtual vacation. And it never fails to revitalize me whenever I watch it.
I grew up in a simpler time in the Virginian countryside, where the blackberries were ripe from the bush, the woods were nearby with trees for climbing and a bubbling creek for jumping over. Days were slow and you could have your choice of adventures as you wished.
As I get older, I miss those times and relish the escape into a mini-series that lets me go back to an even more simpler time. And it reminds me of the girl I used to be who was happy and living in the moment.
As Elizabeth walks through a muddy field to visit her ailing sister at Netherfield Park or gazes with wonder from a rocky hill at the green vista before her, I’m by her side grinning and enjoying it with her.
Key Message: We all need a little respite from the modern world sometimes. Taking a virtual vacation can help you reset your mind and body and get you back on track.
Do you have a favorite movie or mini-series that helps you unwind? Let us know in the comments.
Linda Locke is a writer, mentor/teacher and Publisher/Lead Editor for the Midform Publication. She lives in Southern California near the coast in Ventura County. Subscribe to her Write this Way newsletter on Substack about blogging and finding your voice as a writer.
