Life is Short
We live in an amazing place-- Planet Earth. None of us knows if we'll ever be back here again, or how long we'll be here at all. One thing that's certain is it won't be long.
I think it was Doctor Herb Foster, a professor of mine up at UB, who first suggested (to me) writing down everything you want to accomplish before death. He had a lot of assignments like that, not something he graded, but more powerful, more meaningful, and more memorable than other classroom lessons.
Over the years, I've revisited the assignment periodically. I usually jot down my lists on scraps of paper, which go into my wallet, or get inserted into books. I don't know where they all are, but I do find them at random moments, and I'm always amazed: no matter how unrealistic the list looked when I wrote it down, looking back, I see I've done most of the things on it.
Maybe that means I'm good at doing what I've decided I want to do. Maybe it means I'm blessed (or the lists are somehow magical?). Or maybe it means I need to challenge myself and write harder stuff on the list than "Go hiking on my birthday" (kidding!). I don't know, but I've decided one item always goes back on the list:
Make a new list.
It's like when you rub a magic lamp, and a genie comes out and gives you three wishes, you should always ask for more wishes. It's a piece of logic kids figure out (and their tolerance for genie stories thereafter declines), but it's a piece of logic kids forget when they "grow up."
Here on this website, I'm trying something new. I'm sharing my list(s), and keeping it around where I can refer to it any time I want, with links and pictures to mark the journey as it continues.
Below is the list as of December, 2009, written down while eating breakfast at the Luxor buffet in Las Vegas with Eric and Esther and Joanna:
List '09- Vegas
Great Wall o' China
Machu Picchu
Get married, happily; Have one (or two)(revised after discussion with Joanna) happy & healthy kid(s)
Live overseas again
Become a professor of 日本語 Ph.D.
Write something worth reading
Grande Toure (Europe) with Joanna
Asia with Joanna (Thailand or Bali or the Philippines)
Buy, renovate, and manage a historic property
The Grand Canyon River Trip
Visit the Mariposa Preserve and Paricutin in Mejico
Make a (home) movie with music
Visit more UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Have an annual party; invite everyone
Temagami reunion - down the San Juan in Utah
Pilgrimages to: Hamburg, Bremen, Nikolaev, Blackfoot, Lubeck
Stay Active! Keep Movin'!
Sail
Visit Egypt
Renew Bucket List