Here's My Bucket List -
1. Learn to meditate
2. Earn money, lots of money
4. Open an Animal Farm
5. Age gracefully
6. Work till I am 80, if I live to be 80 or till my last few days on this planet
7. Be mobile and self-reliant till my last breath
8. Renovate my homes – both – in the City and the Valley
9. Travel – well and widely
10. Learn to skydive
11. Learn at least two languages
12. Live for sizeable length of time in other cultures
13. Write, prolifically
14. Get awards for my writing
15. Get Famous
16. Read, voraciously
17. Get into the list of 100 most influentially inspiring people on earth
18. Return to Riding
19. Play a sport or two
20. Increase my IQ
21. Study, all through life
22. Lose Weight, once and for all and keep at it
23. Master a hobby, like photography
24. Smile, a lot
25. Think, even more, before acting
26. Practise being wise always
27. Make a difference to both my inner and outer circles and hopefully to all the concentric ones thereafter
28. Be the best companion that I can be
29. Master the craft of Gardening; grow flowers and vegetables
30. Give a sincere part of me to those around
31. Read at least one book every month
32. Save energy – water, electricity,
33. Save mental energy from rampant wastefulness
34. Reduce, reuse, recycle
35. Become somewhat carefree and let my spirit soar with the birds at least once a day
36. Worry about my actions, Worry less about other’s reactions
37. Reflect on how I have led my life so far and learn from the gaps
38. Put a thought out, often, to how I wish to spend my waking moments henceforth
39. Be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey
40. Try not to relax the grip on my passions
41. Work hard towards my goals, every single day
42. Realize that the day – in its life - gives us the gift of 24 hours to do something worthwhile in
43. Be grateful to God each day for giving me the gift of health, happiness, family, friends and above all hope.
44. Fight off my phobia of water
45. Aspire to be a philanthropist
46. Day dream
47. Spend the day such – in body, spirit and mind – that there are no nightmares
48. Help the elderly, influence the young at every given opportunity
49. Learn to be happy even when sad and temporarily bereft
50. Learn to play at least one instrument in this lifetime
51. While destiny plays out its cards, be camera- ready with all my plans painstakingly written out, typeset and spiral-bound.
*********
1 comment:
Dear Aruna,
You know somethings in life stay with us and go with us, finally like how we are brought up as good kids. It is only those kids who remember the upbringings and chota chota memories. Thanks to our parents though you are still surely much younger to myself. I appreciate your remembrance of how your dad would tell you those good stories.
Yes, those days the morning prayer ritual used to be a sincere one with peaceful demeanor and we kids got some mishri or kishmish as prasad. You took me back some 40 odd years in time to Karol Bagh where we used to live :-)
I heard Gita in my 30s and in race of life to gain and provide I only prayed daily ritualistically. Though I read Vedanta Treatise a few times, I shied away to sit down and read Gita. Swami R Parthasarathy was known to me very well when I was in Middle East for over 18 years and I loved his talks of Gita which he gave every twice in a year. He had given me Gita (3 Volumes). Now I read one verse every morning at 6ish. And I then write the meaning of it in a notebook, as understood by me. It does not teach anything new though but it reminds one of what Self Realization can do to a human being and what is Self Realization. Vedanta Treatise also is nothing but a reminder of Self Realization. I will probably finish reading Gita by end of this year and become a bit wiser and learn the real meaning of Desires, Renunciation, Perfection etc etc. I do indulge in such discussion with Lata (my wife) over a drink some times.
So on my way to office this morning I went over your Bucket List and penned down my Bucket list against yours and added some points which have been strumming in my mind since many years. Many of my desires remained incomplete due to my extremely busy hotel profession, postings and travels. And now I want to do everything - work - play - travel and read. But Reading Gita and SaiCharita gives me a sense of peaceful satisfaction. I did notice how much you want to contribute and give back to various fabrics of the society. I wish I could do the same. I have seen these foundations very closely. In India and in this so called First world. I rather pay to bring up an orphan in an orphanage - know him/her without their knowing me - school them and let them get in to a life THAN donate funds. I brought up a child through CRY from 1982 till 1998. I knew who she was but I reused to meet her in person. I was very happy at the end.
Anyways I will share the Bucket list comments with you.
I will only add- Do all that you can for others, anonymously. Nothing else will give you immense satisfaction.
Take Care and my Best Wishes
ashok
Post a Comment