New Website Alert!

I just launched a new website called a blissful interlude.  In addition to some personal musings on finding those blissful moments in life, the site features stories and profiles on folks who are making a difference in the world, however big or small.

The first story is a feature of Andrew Taylor, co-chef and co-owner of the renowned Portland, Maine restaurant, Eventide Oyster Co.

Stay up to date on new posts by subscribing to the website here, like on Facebook, and follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.  New features will be posted at least once a week!

Happy reading and stay blissful!

Sarah Woehler

Thoughts Before Paris

1. The one thing that has been stressing me out since booking my flights for Paris was the tight connection at Newark.  Upon checking in last night, United gave me an option to switch flights at $75 per ticket, allowing me to get an earlier flight from PWM to EWR, therefore extending my connection time to do a liberal three hours.  So, I said heck with it: $150 is a small price to pay for peace of mind and to avoid potentially being stranded in Newark (rather than the City of Lights) for a day.  You only live once, right?
2. The great thing about long flights is that I have an excuse to buy books at random.  (I will admit, I was a tiny bit tempted to pick up 50 Shades of Grey, but I decided to hold off on that bandwagon for a bit.)   Instead, I bought AM Homes’s (one of my all-time favorite authors) May We Be Forgiven and Domenica Ruta’s addiction memoir, With or Without You.  Both have received wide critical acclaim, in addition to being touted as Huffington Post’s Best Book Club Books of the fall.  I prefer solo book clubs anyway.
3. The other day my good friend Liz told me that something happened to her in yoga – she cried. “Luckily,” she said, “I was in the back row, but crying and yoga is SO cathartic.  It’s like peanut butter and jelly."  How awesome is that?  Now I want to try it.  (Maybe after Paris.)
4. I love fall. I love pumpkin. I love spice.  But this year it seems like the pumpkin-spiced-themed everything has kind of gotten outta control: candles, perfume, coffee drinks, car fresheners.  But hey, maybe that’s just me.  (It’s probably just me.)
5. My friend Brandon sent me an email last Wednesday morning that said, “Stop whatever you’re doing and get the new Janelle Monáe album.”  As a fan of hers since the 2010 release of The ArchAndroid (also amazing), I listened to him.  The Electric Lady is beautifully varied, featuring other genre-bending artists like Esperanza Spalding, Solange, Miguel, and Prince.  If you only listen to one track, I suggest “What An Experience.”  Wow.

Doing Your Personal Best with a Little R&R

The truth of the matter is that it’s that time of the month, which means four things: all I want to do is eat, I'm extra tired, I have cramps, and I just want to be alone.  Women, you know what I'm talking about, and men, you probably do too. 

I have personally never minded the arrival of Aunt Flow and all her crazy quirks. Usually, I embrace them, try to find the time to get enough sleep (even if that means skipping a workout or two), and pull on the sweats as soon as I get the chance. Not typically a complainer, I’m grateful that I do get a period – a signal that my body is functioning properly – but this month I’m feeling particularly tired, edgy, and like I just want to swaddle myself in a big blanket, pop some M+Ms, and watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians all day long. Does that make you hate me? (Because it kind of makes me hate myself.)  Basically, this period thing is kind of an extra pain in the A this month.

Because what I want to want to be doing is curl up with a book on Buddhist philosophy that my friend recommended to me, wash my windows and floors, make a rhubarb crumble, and take a hike in the woods. I want to have the energy to do all of these things, but I have a feeling that none of them are likely to happen between now and Monday, and you know what? I’m telling myself that’s okay, and I'm surprisingly not even feeling guilty about it.

I remember reading last year in The Four Agreements that you should “Always do your best.” In the book, Don Miguel Ruiz explained that doing your personal best is different at different times – sometimes you’ll have greater capacity, sometimes you’ll have less, but always do your personal best at that given moment.

I’m not sure if popping candy and watching the Kardashians is anyone’s personal best at any given time, but perhaps not feeling guilty about getting some extra R&R this weekend is practicing my personal best at the present time. That’s what I’m going to tell myself anyway.

Humble Review: The War of Art

I just read this phenomenal book called The War of Art , which I find myself recommending to anyone I know who has felt any kind of calling (be it mastering capoeira, penning your first novel, name the craft here: ___________). I first heard about it by way of this article I read about my girl crush, Esperanza Spalding . If she was moved by it, I knew I probably would be too.

So, while still in the midst of a certain nameless tome that was well-written but which was losing my interest, I stopped midway and picked up Steven Pressfield’s book. My only regret was that I purchased the Nook version (and while I have surprised myself in enjoying the convenience of an eReader), this is the kind of book I strongly recommend buying in hardcopy format, because if you’re like me, you’re going to want to dog-ear and highlight the bejesus out of it.  (Yes, I'm fully aware that I'm a pathetic sap who loves self-help books.)

While Pressfield’s main craft is novel writing (he has published numerous books, including, among others, The Legend of Bagger Vance), the overall theme of this particular book is to “overcome Resistance” in pursuit of “the unlived life within,” which is applicable to any sort of craft or pursuit. This thing called Resistance rises in the face of any kind of achievement we’re striving toward and it consistently and unabashedly tries to prevent us from working toward these goals. Pressfield says of the evil-force of Resistance, though, that it “is directly proportional to love. If you’re feeling massive Resistance, the good news is, it means there’s tremendous love there too. If you didn’t love the project that is terrifying you, you wouldn’t feel anything. The opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s indifference.”

On a personal level, I was particularly struck by one passage where Pressfield talks about experiencing nervousness before embarking on one's craft. This happens to me pretty much every time I sit down to write, and I used to think: What the hell is wrong with me? I’m doing something I love here. Shouldn’t I feel drunken relaxed and swimming in confidence?  (I admire you if you're one of those people who is drunken relaxed and self-confident all the time -- but I can't relate.)  To my surprise, Pressfield says that such jitters are actually a good thing and that these feelings are normal. He writes:

                   The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is   

                   scared to death. . . . The more scared we are of a work or calling,  

                   the more sure we can be that we have to do it. . . . Fear doesn’t go

                   away.

                  The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which

                 dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day. . . . The more

                 you love your art/calling/enterprise, the more important its

                 accomplishment to the evolution of your soul, the more you will fear it

                 and the more Resistance you will experience facing it.

Now I no longer feel like such a freak. These feelings are normal, and they are clearly not a bad thing. When we’re participating in something we love so passionately, it can feel overwhelming and nervewracking, although hopefully not so much that it is paralyzing. Admittedly, as a Type A perfectionist, the pressure I feel to make things just so the first time around can sometimes paralyze me a bit.  While this is something I acknowledge and am continually working on, what I've learned is that with creative pursuits, in particular, the attainment of “perfection” can be better achieved through consistency, which is why you'll see that some of my blog posts seriously flawed and riddled with typos and misquotes. After all, being 110% is not what creativity is all about, right?

Another interesting aspect about Pressfield's approach to the craft is his emphasis on the importance of spirituality in relation to the craft.  Though he is not necessarily a religious man, he openly admits that he is a spiritual one, and writes about the necessity in calling upon such spiritual forces when embarking on your craft. I found this intriguing, because, while I don't "call upon spiritual forces" before I sit down to write, I have always believed that creative endeavors were synergistically spiritual. Spirituality is broad and open-ended, in that sense.

To get to the root of self, beyond the ego is, in essence a spiritual pursuit. Personally, I feel a sense of spiritual enlightenment when I’m writing, or practicing yoga, or taking a walk through the woods. In his book, Pressfield explains that in order to get beyond the ego and to the self, a recognition of – although not dwelling on – spiritual forces is important. Whether you are spiritual or not, I thought this was a point worth contemplating.

If you are like me, who simply likes to be inspired and to be given the opportunity to look at things from a different perspective, this short, 166-pager is more than worth a read.  And I would even venture to say -- corny as it sounds -- that the book might even be a life-changer. 

Image: Pinterest

The Art of Solo Road Tripping

This week I had to travel to Albany for work. Given the option to fly or drive, I decided that it made more sense to drive since there is no direct flight from PWM to Albany, and with the ever-present potential for a delay or a cancellation with flying, travel time would probably turn out to be a wash between the two means of transportation. Nevertheless, I was not looking forward to the long drive by myself. I had never taken such a long road trip by myself (yes, it’s true), either to someplace I’ve been before or to a city I’ve never been to. In any new situation, my default reaction is to experience a bit of dread, in part because I fear that something will happen that is out of my control (case in point being the handgun debacle that happened last week). This time, though, I told myself that I wasn’t going to let myself feel any kind of dread, and that I was going to just embrace the situation, which was a perfect opportunity to practice what I've been preaching. (If you remember I’m working on enjoying this whole journey v. destination thing.)

While I initially felt a little overwhelmed at the prospect of driving all the way to Albany and back all by my lonesome, once I figured out my route, reserved a hotel room, and rented a vehicle with GPS, my worry was mostly alleviated, and I was actually kind of looking forward to the trip. Really! Though I genuinely love to travel, I am a “comforts of home” kind of person. It may sound corny, but music, books, certain foods, and rituals allow me to feel like I’m at home in my heart. The upside of traveling by myself – as opposed to a stranger – is that I was able to surround myself with these things.

Though the destination was reasonably far away I was only going to be gone for a day and a half.  I uploaded my iPod with some fresh playlists, downloaded an audiobook (Object of Beauty by Steve Martin, which was effing delicious – love him, love his writing), and made sure to pack some healthy snacks. As much as I love deliciously indulgent food, I hate deviating too far from my normally healthy eating routine when traveling, especially when it’s work travel. I packed light, but made sure to bring my sound machine (a key for hotel slumbers), a couple issues of Elle, and some flannel PJ bottoms. I also planned to watch The Bachelorette in the hotel. (Yes, I have horribly tacky TV taste, and I'm okay with that.)

It may not have been ironic that I stayed at the Homewood Suites, a chain I’ve never frequented before. The place was equipped with a separate living and sleeping space and, not that I needed it – a fridge, range, and dishwasher. Kind of sad that I had no one to enjoy it with, it nevertheless made the evening kind of delightful in that manufactured home-away-from-home kind of way. While the bed wound up being a tad too squishy for my firm-bed taste, it was a pretty decent set-up, especially for a three-star hotel. And very clean. As you know, Sarah likes her clean.



The longest, single span, covered bridge in the world, in Blenheim, New York.




Adirondack Chairs at Mine Kill State Park, New York


Thanks to some well-chosen tunes and my audiobook -- and probably most importantly, the GPS -- the drive to Albany and back to Maine went by as fast as any solo road trip could go. And while I’m learning the importance of being outside my comfort zone it’s becoming apparent to me that the only way to enjoy being out of the zone is to just take the reins and not allow myself any room for fear, reminding myself that the situation will be nothing but a positive opportunity. Making that conscious effort really works -- it’s amazing. So, while I’m happy to be back home, it feels like less of a relief than similar situations in the past because I allowed myself to feel only a limited amount of dread and fear in the first place.  As a result, it turned out to be a pretty fun experience, not to mention the fact that I saw the longest, single-span, covered bridge in the world in Blenheim, New York.  It's not every day that you see one of those!


Travel grub.

The Substance Behind "The Secret"

After hearing about The Secret for the past couple years and in the mood for a different kind of book than I normally read (i.e. fiction), I thought I’d give it a try. Having a vague idea that the book’s premise was something about unlocking one’s greatest potential through the powers of positive thinking, I thought it would be an inspiring, if not, entertaining, little read.

Truth be told, the book does come off a little hokey, and as someone who is not typically compelled to works of the self-help/spiritual genre (although I'm finding myself drawn to this genre lately -- The Four Agreements is next!), I maintained a hefty amount of skepticism while reading the book, which I think was a wise idea. The main takeaway is that you can achieve/possess/have whatever it is you want by putting forth positive energy into the universe.  And, while it's undeniably a bit hocus-pocus sounding, the underlying message is that, within reason our dreams – which are deeply unique to each of us – can be achieved through focus, determination, and most importantly, positive thinking. I believe that to be true. I may not be able to win the PowerBall through expelling positive thoughts into the world (although the book says it can be achieved – I say that’s hogwash, but who knows).  However, I do agree that certain, reasonable goals and wants can be achieved/obtained through the power of positive thinking.

Think about it. Negativity is self-defeating. If you say you can’t do something, you’ll never be able to do it. But if you say you can, whatever it is you want to achieve will automatically seem -- and therefore be -- attainable, achievable, easy, even. But achieving something is not possible just by wanting it, The Secret says. Oftentimes, people confuse want with an ability to achieve, but many times that want is paired with “I can’t”, resulting in a psychological inability to achieve that want. Personally, I believe that to be true.

For example, a year ago I told myself that I was going to lose 10 pounds. While I had wanted to lose it for a while before that, it was a bit of a struggle for me because I always felt like my body didn’t want to weigh any less, and therefore I was incapable of being lighter. When it occurred to me that I was setting up limitations for myself, it suddenly became much easier to get down to my goal weight. Sure, it took determination and consistency, but it didn’t feel any more difficult than what I was doing to maintain my weight before. In fact, obsessing on the “I want” less and focusing on the “I will” more resulted in greater achievement.

Though this is a rather shallow example of the powers of positive thinking, it is one that reenforced the overarching ideology of The Secret, even if some of the teachings of the book should be taken with a grain of salt, of course.

Going "Off The Grid"

Sometimes I think of myself as a city girl disguised as a small-town girl. While it's not something I'm necessarily proud of, I love cities so much, that when I plan a trip somewhere an urban center is always where I want to go. Seldom do I consider going to the beach or the mountains or on a cruise. While I know I'll need to eventually expand my horizons a bit, it's pretty much all about the city for me.  I don’t know, maybe living in Maine my whole life has made me take rustic beauty for granted, although maybe that’s too harsh, because whenever I go away somewhere I am always happy to return. Relieved in a way.


But this weekend, for the first time in my adult life, I am taking a weekend getaway not to the city, but to the woods. There will be a cabin, a boat, a potbellied stove, and (thankfully) indoor plumbing, and no Internet or access to cellphones -- for an entire 48-plus hours. This, I must say, is one of the most exciting things about the trip, not because I dislike the Internet or cellphones (obviously.) But for the first time in God knows how long, I’ll be disconnected from the constant, ho-hum whir of technology for more than eight hours, and that will be pretty nice, I think, maybe even necessary.

During my getaway, I expect to take in at least one moose siting, as well as lots of other wildlife, and likely lots of blackflies. I’ve armed myself with some indulgent reads (Candace Bushnell, anyone?), my Canon G-11, and bug dope, and beyond that, I don’t think I’ll need much else. Maybe some snacks. You gotta have snacks . . . although I hear the home-cooked meals provided morning, noon, and night are pretty special.

Ultimately, my trip to the woods will be a nice exercise in just being for a couple days. Because there’s something a bit compelling, albeit a bit foreign, about the practice of being these days, don’t you think?