Sarah Wilson I just needed an excuse to post this snap courtesy of awkwardfamilyphotos.com:
* and just a little reminder for anyone finding themselves reading this because they’re feeling overwhelmed by family and Christmas and expectations, you don’t have to be having a “happy” Christmas. Last night I slept on a foam mattress.
Do you do this? Fret about finding the perfect holiday WITH A PURPOSE? Recently, I went around in 238974897 circles trying to find the best place to do a traditional Indian treatment. That’s what I do. I Over-research. Eventually the right answer pops up in front of me. So obvious. I didn’t want to travel to India. India ain’t good for us vatta types. But, it turns out, the first ever ( officially recognised ayurvedic wellness retreat outside of India is in Ubud, Bali at Como Shambhala.
I know, I know…these details are a long time coming. I posted a while back about visiting a shaman (who told me I shouldn’t do relationships). Tri Makna is his name and he’s a lovely, gentle soul who’s got it going on. He has a twinkle in his eye that says, “I see you”. From memory it cost about $AUS30 for an hour and he’s a 15 minute taxi ride out of Seminyak, past the Denpasar jail where poor Shapelle is couped up. If you’re in the area, he’s worth meeting and being seen by. Go with an open heart…
I found this idea so damn cute: a collage of Polaroid pics of all the visitors to your flat/house. A Who’s Who visual compendium of Folk Worthy of Being In Your Intimate Space. It’s a bit like those walls at the back of Italian restaurants where they get famous people to sign pictures of themselves … Read more
This week I meet the Dalai Lama.
And can I be honest? The experience nearly turned me inside out, what with the three days of fretting beforehand. I’d been invited to meet His Holiness, the spiritual leader of the people of Tibet, and ask him, on behalf of all you lot, how to make life better. Seriously, what does a girl ask? What’s the one question that will cut straight to the fuggy, constipated, heart-sinky life angst that people like you and me experience when we drop our facades?
This post has been updated. August 2013: My assistant Jo recently experienced the heaven that is Gwinganna retreat in July. I spent a week there a few years ago doing a sleep retreat (you can read about it below). That particular retreat has since been turned into a “Triple S” retreat: focussing on sleep, stress and – … Read more
This week I write a perfect list.I find there are two schools of thought on to-do lists. The first says they’re a necessary dumping ground for shower inspirations and must-do minutiae (“fix rear-vision mirror”, “buy Napisan”)…all the noisy guff that swirls unanchored in your head. Ergo, lists are liberating devices that free the mind and help us Finally Get On Top of Things.
The second says lists are annoying. They stall the free-flow fun of life. Folk in this camp might point out that lists are not an inevitable part of the human experience. They emerged in the 1920s after the CEO of a steel company held a competition to find a snazzy new technique for getting more done in a day. The ten-item, tick-as-you-go list was the winning tendor. Mind you, a non-list writer probably couldn’t share such a factoid having failed to jot it down for later reference in the first place.
To-do list or not to-do list? Which is the happier path? It’s a question with far more water-cooler weight than you might think.
My friend Lisa has launched a book called Bondi Style – a snapshot (or several) of life in Bondi, with a sartorial slant.
I was asked to launch the book the other night. Which was a little bit weird because I don’t fit the Bondi style, apart from the glasses I wear (big, black, bought for ten bucks in Hong Kong when I was filming there with MasterChef). I do kind of observe it from up close, however, like a daggy anthropologist. This is because I work and live in Bondi.
This is a new series I’m starting that will flag cool gadgets and tricks and things that make life simpler and less… stuff-y. Most of it will be free stuff. All of it will be elegantly simple.
Sunday Life readers might have seen my column a month or two ago about Instapaper (a nifty filing button for “cool/interesting must-reads you find on the web when you’re meant to be other stuff but that you know you’ll never find again if you don’t read now”. Basically, it enables you to read cool shit later.)
Chapter two in this thinking: Readability. It’s a new FREE! INSTALL IN-ONE-STEP button that you just add to your toolbar and it changes stuff you’re reading online into clear, simple, old-school text, getting rid of pop-up ads and annoying eyeball clutter. When you’re reading something online, just press the readability bookmarklet on your toolbar and it converts the text into a far happier format. A treat for sore eyes!
And so The Lovely Bones, the movie, kicks off next week.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikUWKi0W5_g&feature=related[/youtube]
I’ve been hanging for this movie to come out. The book by Alice Sebold has huanted me for years. What has struck me most poignantly is the kooky 14-year-old thoughts Susie Salmon has (via her narration) about family, and boys and beauty. They reminded me of my own personal dialogue at my age now. Which made me realise I had the same dialogue when I was Susie’s age. I wondered about impermanence, I reflected in a melancholy way and would hover on sad, small thoughts for a while…and pull them apart delicately.