“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” -Soren Kierkegaard This month, I crossed the six month point in my journey to complete forty adventures before I turn forty. As I hit this point, I wonder, so what? Does it matter? Have I learned anything? Have I changed? Am I growing or wasting time and money? Well, here are some of my thoughts on this adventure.
Bored and Busy are not Enough. We live in a scarcity culture. We are always afraid that we need more or will run out of things that matter. However, in the chase of having “enough” we often find ourselves too busy and bored with our lives. Going to work more and missing out on the authentic moments may result in having multiple Kate Spade purses, but it will not result in happiness. This journey has made me realize that my life had truly been in a rut and I needed to get out of it and live. Although I still spend plenty of time (and energy) working, I also am spending a lot more time doing things that I enjoy. I am not zoning out on the couch playing video games (like I did last summer) but instead have read great books, spent more time with family and friends, and am engaging more with my life. Little Moments are important too! (but are hard to plan for!) When I made my list, I added only items that I could participate in with the money in my checking account. I didn’t want to be too crazy (i.e. my dream to go on a cruise to Antarctica) to start with. However, as I have started working through my list of bigger items, I have realized that I am much more in tune with the smaller joys on the journey. These moments cannot be planned for, but I love them too. (Remember when I ate the cricket cookie? Never would have thought of it!) So, as I head into the next half of my year, I am committing to adding Little Moments as they happen to for me to savor them. A Manifesto I am adding a new line to my list--writing a manifesto. As I have dived into these new adventures, I realized that I had been floating through life rather than purposefully pursuing the life I wanted to be living. So, I will work over the next while to write a manifesto that is clear about what I want. This will be my compass point! Next week we head off to Cancun for our family vacation. It was planned with my list in mind--I will swim in the ocean, see ruins, cliff dive at Xelha and I splurged to get a massage at the spa. I can’t wait! Here is to life! Oh, and here are some new items I am adding to my list this week. Some are small and some are my bigg audacious ones that I have been thinking about. -Write a manifesto -Sing at a Karaoke Bar -Earn my Engineering Education Certificate from Tufts University -Max out the salary scale -Try Escargot -Go geocaching -Record 100 little moments -Stay in a hostel -See the Great Wall of China -See the Great Barrier Reef and the Sydney Opera House -Go on a cruise to antarctica -Ride a Gondola in Venice -See a show at the Grand Old Oprey -Visit Dollywood -See the Sphinx and the Pyramids -Go skinny dipping as an adult -See the broncos play everyone in the AFC West live at least once -Dress up to attend comic con -Complete a photo a day project for an entire month -Take pictures in a photo booth -Become a grandma :) (not any time soon!) -Visit the Maldives or Tahati -Write a Song -Keep my drivers liscense for the WHOLE time it is valid without losing it -Try Yoga -Do the FULL Harry Potter Marathon in less than 48 hours. -Do the FULL Star Wars Marathon in less than 48 hours. -Read the Entire Bible -Visit Base Camp at Mt. Everest -Go to the Super Bowl
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAlmost 40 and tired of the treadmill, I am going to LIVE each day as a new adventure while finishing todo items on my life list. Mom, wife, teacher, geek! Archives
May 2020
Categories
All
|