A quote; Only those playing Hide-and-Seek should be hiding

Bucket List.  This is an idea right up my street; it involves lists and dreams all in the same package, what’s not to love?  Immediately the (great) film came out and Bucket List hit the world I was on it.  I made a list, actually I made several, abandoned some, changed ideas and very gradually whittled down my expectations.  Off came ‘Have dinner with Djimon Hounsou’ and on went slightly more realistic goals such as ‘See a whale, live and free’.  It began to occur to me that a good Bucket List should have achievable goals in order to be a successful and true to life list.  It’s all very well putting on ‘be a millionaire, buy a castle, ride in the Grand National’ if you are well on your way to already achieving those things.  If you have a goal that is, somehow to make yourself ‘happy’ then why place that goal out of reach?  My list today contains wonderful things I’m aiming for – Have Tea at The Ritz, Send a message in a bottle, attend a festival, travel somewhere amazing on a  train………. All these and more are within a possibility, making the list real.  

I think my list should grow and become organic with my day, I should include things like visit family more, write more, tidy more, exercise more, eat less chocolate.  

Today I read the article from Helen Fawkes, a lady who has thrown herself into a Life List following the discovery of cancer.  It’s an interesting article, much positivity and Helens blog makes interesting reading too.  Why do we make these lists faced with a certain death?  Death is surely certain to us all, the only difference between Helen and I is that she has a more defined date than I do.  It is, as she says, more of a no-regret way of living, do what you can, as much as you can as soon as you can.  I am a great believer and preacher of this way of thinking, I push my children to be the best of themselves every day, not to achieve grandeur and wealth (although……) but to attain peace and happiness.  I am a great believer and a most useless follower.  I do not do this in my own life, I am, it seems a huge fan of the excuse – the why I can’t in life.  I shall be standing in Heaven saying ‘oh I didn’t know my time was running out’ with some surprise.  I know it.  I am not sure how brave I am.  Hey…….. here’s a thought, maybe I should NOT have only achievable things on my list, maybe I should have seemingly unachievable things in order to push myself.  How crazy a thought is that!

I read yesterday that about a woman who said she had dealt with everything that life had thrown at her (and much had been thrown) by each day writing down three things that made her happy.  I am going to copy that.  Today my three things are 

a) I have a family, mixed and mayhem at times, love and laughter at others, but it’s a good thing to have  

b) when I work I am surrounded by desks, computers, buildings, shops, cars, more computers, busy busy world; but just outside my window there is a great tree and it shares the seasons with me, I look at it often  

c) I brought in my own lunch and so do not have to buy lunch

I also read about George Price, the gentleman who came up with a formula to explain altruism.  The question was if we needed to be selfish creatures to survive in evolution how come we can be altruistic.  The argument, as I understand it, is that we can be selfless if we recognise a kin, as in we will help those we understand to be linked to ourselves and our own survival.  I’m not about to launch into a philosophical debate, nor study the biological premise, in fact I may not even go so far as to use the word premise in my blog.  My own feeling is we have a soul.  And a soul doesn’t need an evolutionary cause to help others.  It’s a human element, in my belief, a God placed portion.  But the point that I have leisurely meandered to is this – George Price said he would lay down his life for two brothers or eight cousins.  I would lay mine down for one.  One cousin, one brother, one child, one stranger.  Not because I am willing to leave, but because life is so very important.  All life.  And should be cherished and saved.

And here I go again, a lecture.  For it has just occurred to me – what are the bucket lists of the homeless, the abused, the lonely.  

On my list – do more, be more, be all that I can be this day.