A List of To Do's

Beware: Reckless-head-in-the-clouds-college-planning ahead. You've been warned.

Life plans. I can't count how many times I've heard people say, "Oh I wish I could do this and that, but *sigh*, work-family-othergeneralexcuse..." in reference to some long forgotten fantasy they had "in their younger years". And this may be my age talking, but why? Our society focuses so much on being "productive", actually producing a service, that I believe we may have forgotten how to live. If we as individuals don't provide a service or produce a tangible object, we're seen as failures, deadbeats, or, worst of all, hippies.

That's a problem, it creates a society that is devoid of introspection and self-reflection, at least to any measurable extent, because it doesn't produce anything tangible. Can it make us happier, more selfless, and conscious? Absolutely! But you can't factor it into GDP, so we tend to forget it. It's why the tradition of religious monastics (Buddhist, Catholic, or otherwise) has been slowly waning. But I digress...

The point of this post is the bring into general detail some nebulous, and not so nebulous, plans I've decided to accomplish by August 8th, 2013 (2 years after having originally set forth my intention). These goals aren't productive. Well, they might be, but that's not why I'm doing them. The following are being done because I want to, not because they might make me money someday, but because I think they're interesting and maybe I could share such interesting knowledge with others. The list goes as follows:

1. Become a certified yoga teacher (200 hr RYT)
2. Learn to sail a boat sans motor
3. Spend 2-4 weeks hiking through another country, speaking as much of the language and as little english as possible
4. Apprentice at a bakery

The first one is for my uncle who passed away 3 months ago today. Yoga was the vehicle that moved him away from the pain of drug addiction and allowed him to fully live and express the beauty of life, even one in what most would call "shambles", he had. I think about him almost daily as I move through life with feeling begrudged or generally pissed off. Really I have nothing but to be grateful for my life, even the seemingly dark parts. The first goal is as much for him and his memory, as it is for me and those whom I wish to give the opportunity to practice.

The last three require a bit less explanation. They're just things I want to do. I like the idea of sailing. I want to go to Japan and/or Wales. And I like making bread. They're what I want to share with the world (especially the bread, it makes everything better).

So there you have it. A formal public commitment. I expect those of you that read this to hold me to it. Because I, just like anyone else, can let "life" take hold and keep me from accomplishing these things. Life is life is life, and I plan to live this one to the fullest.

Be Well.