Things to Do Before I Die

Bestsellers, self-help seminars, and TV shows have focused on this topic. There are people that make these sorts of lists and systematically plan how to accomplish all their goals.

This is so NOT me.

I can’t even make the list. I have no lofty goals. I never live my life on those terms.

I don’t believe there’s some list of destinations and accomplishments that will make me feel complete and at peace. I am completely and utterly into the journey. Into the day to day, only slightly curious about where life will take me, acutely aware that I can’t fast forward or turn back the clock and that ultimately that is a good thing.

The here and now. This moment. Sitting at the computer on a damp gray Saturday morning that smells like burnt butter (thanks to my son’s culinary adventures), listening to my kids clean the mess they made in the kitchen (knowing that they’re making a bigger mess in the process), realizing there are dirty bathrooms, a nasty litter box, and piles of laundry waiting for my attention. It doesn’t sound good, does it?

But I also know there are hidden joys in this day waiting to be discovered, and my goal is spot them amid the clutter and mundane tasks that face me. As Granola Grrrl has implied, there isn’t a bus or shortcut to Enlightenment (or Joy or Meaning or Peace or God or whatever it is you seek!) There’s only you and the road you’re on.

Savor the journey and in the words of every geeky modern mom on the planet, “Make good choices!” ; )

© 2005 Veronica McCabe Deschambault. All rights reserved.

November 12, 2005

Comments

[Ernie Jo]

A good friend of mine named Tammy has as her motto St. Therese's "Little Way": To do the smallest of things with the greatest of love.

I admire her presence to each moment of her day. My daily prayer is to glorify God (somehow!) particularly in the inevitable interruptions, the dastardly delays & irritating inconveniences that weasle their ways into my well-planned routine. Because there are pleasant surprises, too, I try to take it all in stride. Like you, I am learning not to plan too far ahead, not to let past regrets paralyze me, and to remain detachedly curious about where life is taking me.

Here's to the journey. *ching!*

[Granola-grrrl]

Indeed. Sure there are things that I think I'd like to do "before I die." The one thing I have learned throughout this process of becoming unmarried is that most likely, in 6 months, I won't recognize my life. It will be nothing like what I imagined it would look like, and not at all what it was before. That is usually a good thing. As long as I am moving forward, I'm o.k. with that.

I am very into the process. If I charge through with my own agenda, I usually find that there is much more unnecessary opposition than when I release unrealistic expectations and make my decisions based on the tiny bits of the future I can see.

Not that I don't have goals, mind you. But those are the Big Picture. How I get there remains to be seen, and it may not be the way I envision at all.

My yoga calendar pose for this month is called "Bamboo Body" (imagine downward dog, with one leg thrust toward the sky). The caption reads: "Bamboo body moves, wrestling with the wind. The ground supports the arms, which grow from red mud, and plant life guides the body to soften and sway like the bamboo plant, strong yet pliable. Upside down views of life lead us to explore unusual places. Standing in a unique relationship to the earth cultivates original ways of being."

Today, I will work on having a bamboo body and mind. Another prominent yoga instructor, Baron Baptiste says, "Resist less, flow more."

There are indeed many joys waiting to be discovered today.

Here's to the journey. *ching!*

[untitled]

The older I get, the more it seems changing even something little can feel like a big life change. I painted my living room this weekend, and I now feel like I'm sitting in someone else's house (which, decidedly, is a good thing). If I can freshen up my point-of-view with something like this, who needs skydiving? At least, I will tell myself this so I can afford to update my bedroom next, for it is hideous.