Thursday, June 07, 2007

Do you have a list of things you want to do before you die?

About a week ago I was talking with a friend of mine and I mentioned some activity and they became really excited and said, "attending that event is on my life list of things to do!" Now I don't categorically dismiss the gravity of prioritizing things one would like to do accomplish in their lifetime. Oprah and Ellen have both talked extensively about how thes "lists" can enrich ome's life.
My first thought when my friend mentioned it though was the movie "A Walk To Remember" Mandy Moore's character who is terminally ill has made a list of things she wants to do before she dies and her love interest Shane West's character goes about their relationship fulfilling as many of these items as humanly possible..this is the best function of a list like this, I'll get back to why in a minute (in my opinion)
After the aforementioned conversation ended I began to try and think what might be on my list if I ever decided to make one. What I came up did not seem LIFE LIST worthy for example i came up with

* Finish my Masters degree
* Get a full time job with benefits
*Get a support dog (The dog may substitute the husband at the rate I'm going)

*Marry a Christian man
* Live in an accessible place
* Attempt to learn to drive
DREAM
*See the STL Cardinals play a game in every Major League Ballpark

I really kept thinking about this issue for a long time afterwards and I think the reason it is hard for me to think BIG out side of the last one for the list is that I don't want lavish things for myself in this world. I have been shown since the very day I was born that the LIST of experiences and opportunities God has for me are so much better than any list I could write. I'm not by any means saying we should not have goals or aspirations, but I am constantly relearning that when I start setting plans in stone, God usually turns the stone back into clay and reshapes it for the better.
The other thing I often notice is that when people often write these lists it's all about what they want in their life. Although it is good to keep your spirits up and take care of yourself, the purpose of that I believe is so you can give back to others.
I believe for me a LIST that would be much longer and easier to write is things I want to accomplish or have an impact on that will make a difference in the lives of others!

I don't really know if anyone reads this blog but I challenge you to maybe write a LIST of that kind and see what kind of an impact we can all have!

1 comment:

Romanda said...

This is so wierd. I was goning to blog this week on the same topic but didn't get around to it yet!