Okay, not really. I just liked the sound of it and I thought maybe it would get you to open the page. Besides, Paul Simon already did that one and, I might add, he did a fantastic job.
No, this post is actually a collection of 50 things to do in 2012. I have a best friend who told me about this list that she makes most years. The idea is to compose a list of 50 things that you want to do in the new year. Not resolutions (I resolve to do whatever sounds so hostile) but rather intentions, as in, I intend to make these things happen. Not 10 things, not 20 or 30 things , but 50 things. Fifty things because it is hard to go past the first 10 or 20 things and the more you have to dig the more you might come to something new and/or meaningful. I'm not supposed to stall around on the list either. Just supposed to have had it. Here goes:
1. Go out to the beach at least once a month.
2. Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.
3. Make time to paint weekly.
4. Explore the world of ipads.
5. Visit Alex in San Francisco.
6. Continue to do weekend morning bike rides.
7. Think twice before I buy anything that is not consumable.
8. Embrace the trip to Alaska in June.
9. Remember that life is short and then you die.
10. Continue to walk or ride my bike to work whenever possible.
11. Make time for connecting with friends, both new and old.
12. Make time for seeing and supporting my mother as she moves through her 90th year.
13. Laugh more.
14. Let my eyes shine more.
15. Make just three minutes more a day to stretch my body.
16. Embrace the trip to NYC in April.
17. Be more kind to myself.
18. Not whine about the weather.
19. Plan a birthday party for Meg in April.
20. Send birthday cards to all my siblings (not just an email or phone call - a snail mail card).
21. Accept with curiosity (as opposed to resentment) the jury summons for 1/23.
22. Give blood at least 4 times during 2012 (at least if they let me donate).
23. Go to the Farmer's Market here in town at least every other week.
24. Pay attention to the rules and decide for myself if I want to follow them.
25. Remember the person that I wanted to be.
26. Order new walking shoes so that I don't wreck my knees even more.
27. Take a look again at a daily meditation habit.
28. Write, write, and write some more.
29. Recognize that the moment is all that I have - not the past, not the future, the moment now.
30. Breathe and pause when necessary.
31. Renew the nightly dream journal.
32. Take Ellie for a neighborhood walk at least two afternoons a week.
33. Take more photographs.
34. Go up to Bell Springs in the summertime.
35. Say no when I want to say no.
36. Drink more water.
37. Get reacquainted with my mind. We've drifted apart.
38. Be playful again.
39. Take another solitary road trip.
40. Go to Ohio.
41. Repot the house plants.
42. Notice color and detail in the world.
43. Look at people's faces. Really look at them.
44. Have fun getting dressed in the morning.
45. Lighten up.
46. Read at some time other than right before I go to sleep.
47. Pay even more attention to what Meg says.
48. Write more love letters.
49. Test drive the new VW Beetle.
50. Be open to adventure, novelty, and change.
Oh my! Sounds like a lovely 2012 ahead of you. I am intimidated by trying to write a similar list...
ReplyDeleteI enjoy watching you make lists that do not have to be completed before you go back to work on the Monday after the weekend. I like your list in lieu of resolutions. I have ideas about what I would like to do, but am content to trust my style of greeting new adventures with open eyes. What? Me worry? It's the old Alfred E. Newman approach to life. And no, I do not see anything on the list that needs editing. Anything.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Sarah! Your list is GREAT! I'm a little afraid to do a similar list. What if I can't think of 50 things?? So maybe I'll try and see what I can come up with :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a magnificent list! I love #25 the best. I think if that's accomplished, all the rest will follow.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It is a silly - sort of - list but I will say that I thought about every item and did not put it down if I didn't really want to do it. And, Judy? 50 items wasn't really all that hard. And, guess what? I've already ordered the waking shoes (Hello? Zappos?) so now I have 49 to do!
ReplyDeleteGreat list......with this roadmap on your personal dashboard, you are bound to be happy come the end of the year!
ReplyDeleteI especially love the last picture. What is the second picture? Parallel fences...
ReplyDeleteThat's the Brooklyn Bridge - cool photo ops when walking across it. Do you know where the teeter/totter is? and the flowers were right down the street -see, you can get pretty images right here in the middle of civilization :)
ReplyDeleteOf course the teeter totter is at Matchu's place. And yes, you have demonstrated that beauty can be found everywhere, not just in the unincorporated areas of Mendocino County. Sonoma County has a nice share of the beauty, and your camera has the knack of being able to capture the prettiest things.
ReplyDeleteI love #25!
ReplyDeleteNumber 11 - I can help you with that one. When do you want to get together. I can't wait to hear all about this list - including your trips to Alaska and NYC. Not so anonymous Dawn.
ReplyDeleteWorthy goals all. If you get a handle on #2, let me know how. I think pretty much every other goal I have for the year (or life in general) is hampered to some degree by chronic insomnia. And number #31, kind of a corollary to #2, is something that interests me deeply. I've recorded them off and on over the years, but have never taken the time to keep a notebook by my bed. There's no telling what insights into my psyhce I've wasted over the years.
ReplyDeleteHey, MM - my issue with sleep is about not taking the time to get it -- I fall asleep within, usually, a minute of closing my book. I generally sleep soundly and any interruptions are brief and quickly dealt with. The problem is that I like to get up early and do things yet I don't want to go to bed too early at night - too many other things that I want to do.....
ReplyDeleteand dreams? fascinating things. I record them and, over the years, have enjoyed my own interpretations of them - the only interpretations that are valid, IMHO. I don't take them too seriously but I do think they can give you insights into what makes you tick.
I've always wanted to do #31 but wasn't quite sure if there was a particular way to do one. I believe we work out our daytime troubles while we sleep whether we remember it or not.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've become over the past couple of years very comfortable at #35 and #17 (former door mat here) At first it surprised people. But they came to respect my need for personal boundaries and to treat myself as an important person.
aMy dream journal is just a spiral notebook that sets by the bed - it has a tiny light hooked on to it so I can write w/o disturbing RR - the hard part is that you think you will remember the dream later but really if you don't write it down right away, it disappears. I don't know what to make of the dreams but I do know that they make some cool paintings!
ReplyDelete