Sarah Wilson, Author at Sarah Wilson

Assume the head massage will last forever

January 14, 2014 by Sarah Wilson

Do you know that feeling when you’re at the hairdresser where you’re getting the head massage at the basin and you Just Can’t Relax because you fear said massage is going to end any minute? And then you berate yourself for not enjoying the one bit of niceness in your entire week?

My surf-encrusted summer hair all tidied up! Thanks Maria — My very dedicated hairdresser Maria at Ardino in Paddington, NSW. And me post head massage. Which did in fact end. But not before I enjoyed it.

Yeah, that.

Well, I was at my hairdresser last week getting my greys covered up and I braced myself for this moment in heart-sinky self-sabotaging. As the conditioner was applied and the fingers sank in I steered my mind to the assumption that it was a massage that was going to go on and on and not end abruptly.

Two things:

Having deleted a time frame from the equation, I could focus instead on the massage. I got into the moment. Time frames ruin things.
This assumption created a vibe (an “air”) of abundance. And it’s amazing how, when you create an “air” about you, things flow from there. In this case, the massage did in fact go on and on. Or at least that was how it felt. And isn’t that what counts?

Assuming an air of abundance ain’t a bad way to set out each day, with every activity. I’m not a “manifest-y, roll around with a dolphin under a rainbow in your little puddle of abundance…with a pet unicorn” preacher. But I do know that like attracts like (on a quantum level and beyond) and that it certainly doesn’t hurt to assume the best. Indeed, the worst that can happen is that the massage does end prematurely. But a bit of disappointment is better than tense anticipation, right?

Extrapolate this out further: dealing with failure or f*ck ups or let-downs after the event is more manageable than forever trying to narrow your

Holy shit. I just turned 40.

January 8, 2014 by Sarah Wilson

I don’t quite know how this crept up on me. But here I am, 40.

I’m not ashamed of the number. Nor uncomfortable about entering into a new age category on government forms and internet dating profiles. But this birthday feels poignant. Potent.

Forty is halfway. Up until this mid-point (Lord, I’m now middleaged!), my life approach was all “run-up”. Everything was ahead of me, as potential. I’d taken jobs that were a “good experience” that would prepare me for my real job… one day. I had relationships that were good practice for when I met my soul mate. I’d not worried about certain things – committing, settling down, um, buying a couch – because I was in preparation mode. Lining up my ducks.

The past four decades have been a dress rehearsal for the “real performance”.

But today I’ve arrived. This is it.

No more run ups. No more rehearsals. I have to get out there on the stage and bear myself to the audience.

This is who I am. No hiding behind the excuse that I’m in training and still testing the waters.

And, you know what, this feels good. Like, really good.

I think some people hit this mid-point with the heart-sinky impression that what goes up most now come down, that 40 is a pinnacle and it’s a downhill journey from here.

I don’t see it this way. I’ve reflected on it a bit and I’ve chosen to see to stay here at the summit for quite some time.

I’m going to cruise at altitude for as along as I feel good about it before descending into old age.

Which is to say, a long time.

I recently finished reading Helen Garner’s essay collection True Stories. Garner’s writing is so measured, honest and unapologetic. She writes about turning 50. “The grand thing about being fifty is how tough you can be. You don’t have to care about what people think. You can let things rip, in your work…you can stop wanting to be nice.” She uses the example where some bloke accuses her of not laughing at much any more. Her retort: “Yes, I do – but not at the same things; and I don’t feel obliged to crack jokes and kick up my heels just to keep a stranger

allow time

January 10, 2014January 7, 2014 by Sarah Wilson

Sometimes solutions can be so stupidly simple. This holiday break I experimented with doing nothing. It paid off. I got some serious rest. Indeed, each day I got seriously excited about heading home in the afternoons to do nothing but lie and read and potter and make fermented mayonnaise. And so forth. So much so, I failed to pull my weight over Christmas with the family, such was my slothfulness (my family forgave me, seeing it as something of a novelty).

I also got perspective. Now at the end of the two-week period and back in the office, I feel clear and calm. I withdrew further back from the flurry than I ever have. And this is what I saw:

The secret to calm is to book in more time.

I’ve written before about buffering. I guess I’m using this potent time of year to remind myself (all of us) of the worth of padding out life with more space and time.

Thing is, getting things done in less time has become a sport. The ability to cut corners, juggle more things in the one hour, conduct a conference call while checking the mail – and so on – is worn as a badge of honour. But the longterm effects of this unmindful way of being is not something you’d want to pin to your chest.

It scrunches. It constricts. It scratches at your emotional fibre.

Over the past fortnight I realized how resentful I am of my rushing. Driving makes me tense. Meetings get me anxious (for them to move faster). Even some of the more creative, fun aspects of my work leave me cringing.

…all because I don’t leave enough time to be in the moment with it. The tight little vessel of time I allow for getting things done isn’t big enough to fit me in it comfortably. I squeeze in half a limb, a quarter of my brain…rarely my whole.

I’m not sure if I’m spelling out something too obvious. But it’s something I very much overlooked and dismissed in 2013. My clarity exposes it,

8 end-of-year favourites: a listicle

October 23, 2018December 31, 2013 by Sarah Wilson

Dearest Reader, It’s been the biggest year of my working life. Bugger it, let’s not tone it down. It’s been The Biggest Year of My Life. Also the hardest. Also the best. I’m grateful many of you joined me along the way. You kept me honest and steered me where I needed to go. Thank … Read more

what you’re craving is much closer

December 19, 2013December 19, 2013 by Sarah Wilson

Last weekend I got super antsy. It was a classic Single-When-All-Your-Friends-Are-Ensconced-In-Relationships scenario: I’d rung around everyone I knew, trying to fill out my weekend with activity…and everyone was busy…with husbands and kids and family barbeques and trips to Bunnings. Or whatever. And I felt abandoned. Then I felt like a loser for caring.

And so on it spiraled.

I work hard to not be a whining single. I largely find single life pretty ace. But something in me was craving intimacy and company. I was needy and the planet could smell it. A Sunday night buddy. I just want someone to watch a DVD on the couch with! Is this asking too much??!!

And, as my antsyiness descended: If I didn’t call my mates to organise catching up and connecting, would anyone call me? If I died…would anyone notice? How long would it take to find my corpse? If a single falls in the forest and no one is around to care, do they make a sound?

Sunday morning, however, I got a grip, got on a train up north and did one of my bush excursions. Fling yourself into bush. Climb a tree. I once had this edict taped to the back of my bedroom door for just such antsy moments.

Life was against me, however. The Northern line was undergoing work, so it took me four trains and a bus to get to the starting point. I’d eaten too much for breakfast and felt heavy. The weather turned. I could’ve given up. But I persevered.

Finally, two hours later with rain imminent, I entered the bush, not a soul in sight. Within minutes my whole energy shifted. I unfurled. I came back home to myself.

And I realized this: I hadn’t been craving other people. I’d been craving me. My little Silly Season-frazzled soul wanted to be taken care of by… me. It wanted to be carted off into the bush, where it feels most at home in the world, for some free thinking and the rhythmic caressing of provided by walking.

Why i choose green smoothies over juices

October 7, 2015December 18, 2013 by Sarah Wilson

I kind of cringe at the fact I’m a green smoothie fan. I never bought into flouro T-shirts back in the ‘80s and I don’t do diets. I try many things, but I don’t like to buy into a “thing”, unless a) I’ve looked into said thing in detail, b) I’ve experienced a substantial improvement in my life from it and, generally, c) I can do it myself (without purchasing some fan-dangled contraption or procedure or whatever).

Surprisingly, green smoothies tick off my three considerations:

The evidence suggests they are an effective way to get dense nutrition into our bodies.
I’ve found them to be a really nifty way to eat my greens and notice the difference when I’m not drinking (or eating) one.
Green smoothies are not about purchasing a fancy, expensive product in terribly wasteful packaging. I make my own with ease and tote in old jars and reusable cannisters.

Thus I comfortably do green smoothies. Most days. And in different forms.

Why drink your greens?

We need to be eating 5-6 serves of vegetables a day (according to national nutritional guidelines) to get enought macro and micronutrients into our beings. I’d say 6-8 is optimal, especially if you have compromised health. Most of us find this hard to pull off daily. Most meals are packed out with carbs and other nutrient-negligible fillers, leaving little room for greens.

By creating a meal around greens, it ensures you get a good 2-3 serves of the good stuff into your day.

It also “crowds out” the crap. While ever you’re filling up on greens, you’re not eating the nutrient-negligible fillers.

Green smoothies v green juices

The difference between the two is this:

smoothies are made by pureeing whole fruit and vegetables into a thick drink. Juices extract the ‘juice’ only and the pulp is tossed.

So why do I prefer the former?

Smoothies are more filling. The fibre keeps us fuller longer, taking almost twice as long as liquids to leave our guts. Juices can also slow your metabolism (the calorie decrease can send the body into starvation mode, causing you to store energy).
Smoothies don’t constipate. Juices can. You need fibre for your gut to move and to maintain the right kind of bacteria to keep
Read more

the most sustainable prawns to buy this christmas

October 2, 2015December 12, 2013 by Sarah Wilson

I’m not sure if you’re aware but prawns – or shrimp – are an ecological and ethical disaster waiting for a barbie to be thrown atop.

I wasn’t…until recently. My uncle Pete was a trawler. We ate them every Christmas. And in fried rice when Mum made it for one of my brother’s birthdays most years. But I, like many of us, care more about this kind of thing these days. I care, and I want to act right. So prawns…

As with all my sustainable eating posts, I don’t suggest banning foods. I advise making better/best choices. And using up leftovers and the whole animal/vegetable/mineral. Wastage is the real ethical/eco crime, to my mind. In time for Christmas I decided to research this bottom dweller issue and share what I found, so you too can get real with shrimp!

Why are prawns a problem?

The bycatch is shocking: I’ve heard anecdotally that

for every prawn caught, 27 other species are caught in the bycatch and tossed away.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) best describes this issue here, claiming:

“Tropical shrimp trawling (TST) has one of the largest bycatch rates of all fishing techniques and often damages the ocean´s seafloor.”

Bottom trawling is shocking: it destroys coral and has a detrimental affect on the seafloor. Seafloors are vital to the health of coral forests, seagrass beds, kelp forests and deep sea thermal vents.

Many of the prawns we buy are imported. About 70 per cent of the seafood Australians consume is from OS. Which is an issue because many countries don’t fish their prawns sustainably. Tropical shrimp farms in Asia – where much of our prawns come from – destroy coastal mangroves.

So, what to look for?

As I say, I’m not about banning prawns. It’s about getting smart and mindful. There are tricks.

1. Look for Marine Stewardship Council– certified. Ask your monger if the prawns they’re selling are as such. MSC is the biggest fishery standard (with more than 200,000 fish covered in over 15 countries) and therefore this first port of call is probably your safest bet, wherever you are in the world. MSC-certified prawns are trawled on sandy or muddy ocean floors and cause minimal impact to the habitat and ecosystem. But, somewhat contentiously, not all their recommended prawns are low-bycatch.

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is also setting up certification with farms such as Tassal Operations’ Macquarie Harbour Farm becoming the first in Australia to receive certification. As farms start to become certified by them you’ll be able to look out

my sustainable christmas gift guide… plus a bevvy of giveaways for you!

December 10, 2014December 11, 2013 by Sarah Wilson

I personally don’t do Christmas gifts. It’s something our family agreed to a few years back (after trying Kris Kringles and giving each other World Vision goats). Instead we pitch in to get all the family together – plane tickets and rental houses to accommodate us all. But I do love the idea of mindful, dignified gifting (our family just happens to be bad at it!). Thus, I’ve assembled a bit of a guide, as I do each year. You can catch up on previous guides here, here and here for extra ideas.

Yep, that's me on the left. — This was our family’s gift to relatives one year. THAT’S how bad we are at presents! Indeed, the shot made it into one of *Awkward Family Photo*‘s books.

I’ll be upfront with you all – it’s an assemblage of brands and people I believe in and want to support and/or products I personally use. Kind of a “Friends of 2013” sharing. Happily, a bunch of these kind people have also offered giveaways to you guys. I outline how the giveaways work at the bottom…

1. The Smith Family’s Joyspreader. $15. This is one of my favourite gift ideas this year. $15 will provide breakfast for a child who would otherwise go without. Breakfast: kids need it!

2. Buy a mate a few seconds of fame by donating to Sustainable Table’s ‘Waste Deep’ Pozible Campaign. Sustainable Table are raising money to produce a short film about waste free eating. Donate on behalf of the person you’re gifting, and their name will appear in the credits, plus they’ll get a shout-out on social media.

3. An I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program, ready for your spouse/friend/grandmother to take part in January, $150. You can sign up a mate here, just add their name and email address when you pay.

4. The Quad Lock iPhone 5 Bike Mount, $70. I use mine every day. It’s attached to my bike (the kit also comes with two mounts for the car, too) and I listen to ABC Radio National as I bike between meetings. I also use it for navigating and for doing phone conference calls as I bike around (yep, using FaceTime). Their new armband mount will be available soon, too, and they stock mounts for all iPhone models.

Rob from Quad lock is also giving away five Quad Lock Bike Mounts in this guide.

5. Ovvio’s Vanilla Powder. $19.95. I refer to vanilla powder in all my books and I generally recommend this one. Anthia uses whole