What's on your Bucket List

I was watching Oprah the other day and was intrigued by the 4 young guests from Canada and their reason for appearing on her show. This group of young men, started their own "bucket list" not on any premise that they were embarking on the final years of their lives but merely to seek out and live their lives to the fullest.

"Relying on goodwill, guts and gumption Duncan, Ben, Dave and Jonnie travel the globe in a purple transit bus to complete a list of ‘100 things to do before you die’ and to help and encourage others to go after their own lists."

Their show, The Buried Life which airs on MTV, was inspired from the 1852 poem written by Matthew Arnold. A poem which expresses "A thirst to spend our fire and restless force, In tracking out our true, original course", inspired this dynamic foursome to travel across the United States (#25 on their list) and fulfill not only their own dreams but others as well. For each item that they check off their own list, they will help a stranger accomplish a goal of their own. This is truly not only an inspiration to accomplish ones own personal goals to live "out loud" but a testament to paying it forward as well. It is about uncovering day-to-day trials that "bury our lives" and learning to evaluate our own dreams.

The List, includes simple things like #7 plant a tree and #52 go on a blind date and my personal favorite #29 scream at the top of your lungs (oh I am so adding this to my list). There are also a few items that take gumption and determination like #1 open the six o'clock news, #68 swim with sharks (now that one gives me the heebie jeebies - I'll personally pass on that one) and #95 play ball with president Obama (which by the way they accomplished). They actually posted in their blog "The Complete, Unofficial Guide to Playing Basketball With the President" that they put that one down because it "was the most impossible thing that (we) could think of". That standalone phrase sais it all. Life is about embarking upon the simplest things that we take for granted as well as challenging ourselves to our most impossible dreams.

We all get wrapped up in the monotony of our daily lives and the what we are "supposed to do's". For many of us we are chasing the 5 and 10 year goals that we set for ourselves some time ago and focusing only on how to get there. And for many of us those 5/10 year "plans" include the generic "own my first home", "get married and "start a family". I'll bet my measly savings account that a small percentage have actually tapped into their authentic selves and added things like "splash in the biggest puddle I can find with my kids on a rainy day" or "interview my favorite author (whoever that may be at the time)" or even simply "knit a scarf". We rarely tap into our own souls until we are either at a crossroads or rock bottom.  Why wait until the universe hands us the inevitable? Why aren't we rethinking our life goals to include what our spirits are telling us we want to experience and not just what we think we should be experiencing. Food for thought right?!.

So what is your "Life List"? Have you accomplished the items on your 5/10 year plan? Have you ever thought about revisiting that list and making a few alterations? I say now is the best time to do that. I am going to challenge myself and start a list. I challenge you start your own list and start living out loud!

(the start of...) MY LIFE LIST

1. Marry my soulmate

2. Make a six figure salary (working on this one again)

3. Go back to school

4. Take my family to Hawaii
5. Publish an article
6. Purchase a home in the mountains
7. Be a part of something bigger than myself (i.e. help others in need, give back to a charity)
8. Go on a cruise
9. Grow my own garden
10. Live in a house with a window seat
11. Learn to read music
12. Learn to meditate...I mean really meditate (OOOMMMMMM)
13. Sit down and have a heart-to-heart with my brother Ian
14. Swim with dolphins
15. Go whale watching


(Oh my gosh this really makes you think...) Stay tuned..........

What to do on a rainy day

What to do on a rainy day. Rainy days are often given to us as a hall pass to do nothing. Staying in your pajamas all day has never been so excepted than on rainy days. Grazing on comfort foods until you are so full you need to take a nap is a little luxury given to us only on rainy days. Renting movies that you refused to pay $10.00 for in the theater are usually first on the list. And hey, where do you think all of those crafty moms out there first discovered there talents. You guessed it....on a rainy day.

So what to do on a rainy day. I am reading books to my 3 year old. I am watching her dance around in her favorite princess nightgown (that by the way...has seen better days). I am watching her tuck in almost every stuffed animal she has into blankets and lay them all over the house, because they are not exempt from rainy day luxuries either. I am contemplating if I want to bake cupcakes that I so desperately want but so desperately DON'T need. I am finding comfort and peace in vacumming every nook and cranny in the house because, well thats what I do on rainy days.

What to do on a rainy day!