The journey to experiencing true contentment in our everyday lives each and every day takes time, and it is indeed a journey and a chosen, thus, conscious journey.

Along the way, support, guides and wisdom that while helping us navigate lets us keep our hands on the wheel rather than being taken along someone else’s life journey play a powerful and necessary role on the road to where we wish to arrive.

My own road to true contentment, my road to Le Papillon (the name I gave to my house, meaning the butterfly in French) unconsciously began when I was born, and consciously began just over twenty years ago. Along the way, I am grateful for the guides, support, wisdom from others with much more experience as well as life experiences that continued to teach a student who needed, and thankfully, wanted to learn.

As I share in the introduction of the book, your Le Papillon may also be a house of your own, but it need not be. Maybe you already own your home but have not found true peace in your daily life. Maybe you love the freedom of renting but have not found out what to do with all of the freedom you have in your life. Maybe it is not a matter of your living situation. Perhaps relationships you have forged pull you down and mute a voice inside you, and you hope one day to find the strength to share what you feel. Or maybe the traditional structures — whether within school, work, or family life — constrict or bind in a way you cannot explain without seeming to hurt those you love, but you know you must find a way to communicate your needs with kindness, yet with strength, in order to live a life that soothes your being. The road to Le Papillon is the road to your unique true contentment.

In TSLL’s 3rd book paired with never-before-shared personal stories and moments that occurred along my journey, with each daily entry for each day of the calendar year you are invited to grow, stretch, try, explore, strengthen and honor the true self that upon embracing will lead you to true contentment.

With the encouragement of TSLL readers who subscribed to the weekly newsletter that began being sent out in June 2010 and carries on today (only going on hiatus during 2020), the suggestion was repeatedly made to incorporate the more personal and intimate weekly letters from the editor exclusively shared in the newsletter into a book of daily meditations. As the readers kept making this suggestion, I kept imagining how this book would look. How could it become a book readers found of value to apply to their own lives no matter where they found themselves along their own journey? So in 2020, I sat down and waded through the more than 500 entries, kept the content I felt had beneficial substance for many readers, polishing it up, adding more specifics or updating and edited out the rest. I then wrote anew more than half of the entries and decided the book would be organized around twelve themes, also known, as it pertains to my life journey – invaluable life lessons to help guide our way toward our true contentment.

Chapter Themes (titles):

• January — Let Go of What Doesn’t Work and Embrace the Unknown
• February —Be Yourself Fully, but Stay Vulnerable
• March — Embrace Patience, Healing and Growth
• April — Speak Up, Communicate Well, Set Boundaries
• May — Love Mother Nature (British Theme/Focus)
• June —Let Your Curiosity Expand the Everyday and Open Your Mind
• July —The Gifts of France: Awakening, Savoring and Being True to Oneself
• August — Be Playful as You Create and Explore
• September —Be Strong and Soft, and Think Critically
• October —Lead with Your Humanity as You Pursue Knowledge, Understanding, Bravery and Kindness
• November —Explore and Discover Yourself and the World
• December — Find Peace, Calm, and Sanctuary: Become a Butterfly

The Road to Le Papillon: Daily Meditations on True Contentment

Full Book Description:

The road to true contentment is a chosen journey. Our enjoyment of life expands and deepens based on being courageously open to possibility and tenaciously becoming fully human. Living mindfully in the present steadies us as we pursue true contentment and live peacefully in our everydays, engaging with love, openness, presence, and kindness. 

With the story of how she arrived at her cottage home, which she calls Le Papillon (The Butterfly), Shannon Ables focuses on understanding ourselves and the world, and on living everyday with true contentment. Each person’s journey and discoveries will determine their unique destination, whether a place or something intangible. 

Living a life of contentment in our everydays opens us to vast possibilities, grounding our lives, relationships, and engagement with the world in peace, starting from within and elevating the quality of our lives. We cultivate contentment by:

• Trusting our journey and engaging fully as our true selves.
• Learning to understand our minds and emotions, and to interact well with others.
• Letting go of expectations and remaining open to the unknown.

We become able to savor daily moments — sipping a hot cuppa as the sun rises; sharing loving exchanges with a partner, child, friend, colleague, or neighbor; the evanescent gems Mother Nature bestows.

If we insist on knowing how our life journey will unfold, we disrupt the potential for magic to occur. And rather than wait for something “better,” something “more,” we invest in the present moment. We participate rather than demand, celebrate rather than control. We become love rather than wait for love. 

In The Road to Le Papillon, Shannon tells intimate, never-before-shared, pivotal life stories that brought her to Le Papillon. With nods to the inspiration she finds in the French and British cultures, she lays out an array of skills and ahas, many new, others shared in her first two books, Choosing the Simply Luxurious Life and Living the Simply Luxurious Life, and on her blog The Simply Luxurious Life and her podcast The Simple Sophisticate. 

The book is organized by theme. Each daily entry concludes with a call to action and a petit plaisir (a simple everyday luxury). Readers are urged to explore further with suggestions for reading or listening, or tips for the amateur gardener and chef. 

Have a look at the Book’s Trailer below:

Pages: 495

Illustrations: 14 new illustrations, created by Sarah Löcker

Price:

• Hardback — $36
• Paperback —$27.95
• eBook —$9.99 (full color illustrations)
• Audio book —to be released on March 22nd, price forth-coming

Where to Purchase:

I have decided to approach preordering the actual book a bit differently than previous years to save you, the readers, money and cut down on shipping times.

You will be able to order the book initially from Amazon on March 1st (hardback and paperback) from your country’s Amazon Store. Eventually, the book will be available wherever you purchase your books online – Bookshop, Barnes & Nobles, etc. Libraries and independent bookstores can also order the book, just ask them on or after March 1st and they will be able to find it, and place an order.

With all of the shipping snafus so many companies and industries are experiencing, I knew that shipping the books once to me to be signed and then back out into the world all around the world would be incredibly expensive to you, AND the time it would take to arrive at your mailbox unpredictable. By allowing you to purchase directly from the online bookshop you trust, you will be able to save significantly on shipping and have it arrive in a timely manner to your home.

With that said, Signed copies are still available!

How?

A Signed Bookplate.

Preorder your signed bookplate today (see below what it would like), and it will arrive on or just before March 22nd for you to place in the book and also serve as a reminder to place your order for The Road to Le Papillon. (if you are a TOP Tier Member, click here to order your free bookplate)

If you are a TOP Tier Member, your bookplate is absolutely free (click here to place your order). If you are a non-member, the cost is only $2 (no matter where you live in the world- which covers the printing and postage cost).

But wait!

All readers can receive the new Croissant notepad when they preorder their signed bookplate (TOP Tier Members – Free!; Non-Members – $12). If you are a Non-Member, use promo code CROISSANTFEB to save 15% off the notepad through February 28th.

The new Croissant notepad: 4″ x 8″, full color, magnet, 50 pages.

Learn more about how the title for the new notepad was chosen and what it means! Click here.

But still there is more!

If you are a TOP Tier Member, you will also receive the free gift of a silk embroidered bookmark from Cash’s (UK). You may choose from four different designs. The bookmarks are only available to order through February 14th. Click here to order as a TOP Tier Member.

One of four different designs of the silk embroidered bookmark available exclusively to TOP Tier Members for free (place your order by February 14th)

Now is a wonderful time to become a TOP Tier Member as you will receive the following entirely free (no shipping either!):

• A signed bookplate
• A Croissant notepad
• A silk embroidered bookmark (your choice from the four designs available)
• Must be a member prior to February 14th as all orders for free must be placed by February 14th.
• All orders will be shipped and arrive by or before March 22nd
• Click here to learn more about becoming a TOP Tier Member
• Remember: TSLL’s 3rd book is NOT included in this order. Be sure to purchase the book from your preferred online bookshop on March 1st to arrive at your home on March 22nd.
• A value of $22 (that is three months of ad-free reading and exclusive access)

To ensure your preordered bookplate and notepad arrive by March 22nd, place your order by February 28th. You may still order the bookplate thereafter and notepads will continue to be available, but I cannot guarantee they will arrive on March 22nd.

To hear an excerpt and detailed look inside the book, be sure to check out February’s A Cuppa Moments.

Mark your calendars as well, because we have our first virtual Book Talk and Signing all set up with a local Bend independent bookshop – Roundabout Books.

Book Talk & Signing: Tuesday April 26th 6pm (Pacific)

• Tune in from around the world on Zoom
• The first portion I will read from the book and share a bit about my journey, addressing any pre-sent questions readers had.
• The final 20 minutes will be a Q & A session for readers to ask questions.
• The chat will be recorded, so you may be able to watch it later if you cannot make the time and date (I know this time is difficult for European readers to tune in)
• You will be able to order signed copies from Roundabout Books (domestic – US – orders only)

Save 40% off TSLL’s 1st & 2nd Books (signed copies)

For a limited time (through February 28th), purchase signed copies (hardback or paperback) of TSLL’s 1st and 2nd books, and save 40% off. Use promo code 40TSLLFEB at checkout. This discount is available to ALL readers, and the books will be shipped in time to arrive on March 22nd wherever you live on our grand ole’ globe.

Order a Signed Copy of TSLL’s 1st Book

Order a signed copy of TSLL’s 2nd Book

Whoa! I recognize that was an abundant amount of information. If you have ANY questions, please do ask in the Comments Section below. The key details to remember:

• You can receive a signed bookplate for free (or $2 for Non-Members) when you order by February 28th.
• You may place your order for The Road to Le Papillon on Monday March 1st through Amazon and it will arrive by March 22nd.
• Non-Members use promo code CROISSANTFEB to save 15% off the Croissant notepad when you order the signed bookplate by February 28th
• All readers, save 40% off signed copies of TSLL’s 1st and 2nd books with promo code 40TSLLFEB (order by February 28th). All books will arrive by March 22nd.
• TOP Tier Members, place your order for your free gifts (Croissant notepad, silk embroidered bookmark, signed bookplate) by February 14th.

~Learn more about becoming a TOP Tier Member here.