Not Quite a Bucket List
A bucket list. I’ve contemplated whether or not I want one of these. I mean, I am a list person. I make lists of things to do each day. Lists of things for which to shop. Lists for different projects at work. Sometimes I end up making lists of all the lists I need to make. But somehow, in all this list making, I’ve never made a bucket list. Hmmm… kind of weird.
Despite
my lack of a bucket list, I did decide the other day that there are
many things I love to do, but never really take the time to do them. I
began a list, similar to a bucket list in the sense that they are
things I want to make time to do as I go through life. Yet, it is
very different in the fact that I’ve probably done most of these things
already and they aren’t really once in a life time things. In fact,
they are almost all things I wish I could do every day. The title of my list you may ask….?
THINGS THAT BRING ME JOY
Who doesn’t want a little more joy in life? Even when we are very joyful it’s nice to add a little extra. So here’s what I did:
I started this list a couple weeks or so ago. I’m planning to write (or maybe print off the computer) each of the things on this list on a little card. Then, I’m going to put them in a jar or dish or hat or something I randomly find laying around the house. Each morning I’m going to draw a slip of paper from the container and try to do that thing in the day.
Here’s my list so far:
Things that Bring Me Joy:
- Make a card to mail to a friend
- Go for a run
- Go for a walk… and take your camera with!
- Find somewhere to volunteer for an hour or two
- Go for a hike
- Write a letter to a friend
- Call a friend you haven’t heard from in a while
- Make something special for dinner
- Call a friend and invite them over for dinner
- Bake some bread from scratch
- Wander through the blog-o-sphere
- Go to Niagara Falls (for some this may be on their “bucket list” but for me, being that it’s only 20 miles away, I can basically do this anytime I want)
- Go rent a movie to watch and pop some popcorn on the stove
- Play your guitar
- Write a silly song about something that happened today
- Read a book
- Go to the library and read a bunch of children’s books
- Write a blog post.
- Eat some ice cream
- Get all dressed up for dinner (and either go out, or even just get all dressed up and stay at home.)
- Take a bubble bath
- Make plans for your next vacation (even if it is a dream vacation you may never actually take.)
- Plant something
- Cut some fresh flowers
- Take some flowers to someone… just because
- Find a kid to hang out with
- Kickbox to some favorite songs
- Go to the farmer’s market
- Watch a sunrise
- Go to the park and swing on the swing
- Color in a coloring book
- Be crafty… scrapbook, decoupage, crochet, etc.
- Make some homemade paper
- Find something to do in town that you’ve never done before
- Go for a drive, roll down the windows and turn up the music and sing along
- Do something nice for someone or leave them a note… and do it all without letting them know or figure out who did it
- Go lay in the grass and stare at the clouds (or, if in winter, go build a snowman)
My list continues to grow…. I plan to keep blank slips of paper near my container and add to it often.
But
I wonder… what would be on your list? What are the things that if you
did them everyday you would never get sick of them… the things that just
bring a smile to your face… the things that may seem a little crazy or
childish or whatever, but you enjoy doing anyway. What would be on your list of “Things that Bring Me Joy”?
Okay… now go make your list and start enjoying life a little more each day!
