A Bucket List

Do you have a bucket list?... I've never really had one but used it as an excuse to do things I should have thought twice about a couple of times... but I recently decided to start one... 

For most of my adult life I've gone where I wanted to go and done what I wanted to do... and never really saw the need to make a list or have any fanfare... I came across something recently on Twitter (I refuse to call it X)

I've done all of these things...they are pretty self explanatory... but I should qualify a couple... I was arrested for peaceful protest... and as far as drug use... I smoked pot with a friend who was undergoing chemo therapy about 30 years ago and got freaked out doing it alone... and as far as skipping school... I wrote previously everybody should take at least two mental health days a year... I have  many, many favorite mental health days too numerous to list... but they started on Catalina Island... and they have continued up to a few days ago at The Metropolitan Museum Of Art... prior to them being more formal and preplanned it was simply.. a spontaneous "Fuck this shit, I'm going to the beach!"

Somewhere I'm the middle of my rather peripatetic wandering  adventures someone said "It's no big deal... everything you are doing has already been done" I realized for the first time in my life that not everyone held me in the same high regard as I viewed them... I simply said... " Yes but not by me!"... with that I've been to Nepal... but had no interest in going during the cold and  climbing a mountain... I think it's important to swim outside your comfort zone to find what's on the distant shore... but use some common sense at the same time.

Speaking of Nepal... the Lukla Airport is one of the most spell binding take off and landings in the world... Visions of "Lost Horizon" flashed through my mind both times I was there... speaking of which... I'm not generally superstitious... but I do think everything comes in threes... so I'm fairly sure I'll find my way back there again.

Since it's necessary to swim outside your normal comfort zone in your travels and adventure...taking the polar plunge in the North Sea is something I'm glad I did but don't know If my spirit or my body could take the punishment again... the recovery time is painstaking... with emphasis on pain...

 Ditto for the 300 Club run in Antartica...

I'm still on the fence about running with the bulls again in Pamplona... I've done it twice.. so there you are... maybe once as a spectator...

Most everything else has seemed easy and relaxing by comparison...

A cruise down the Nile and sight seeing along the way ( some of my adventures have been influenced by movies and books...

 however I would love to take the trip but... I've only seen someone off once who were traveling on The Orient Express...

But I did travel on The Ghan in Australia and had an unforgettable time... 

My journey with my friend George on Route 66... I wrote about it here...Hitting The Road was one of my favorite adventures... maybe because we discovered things about ourselves and the world... and I'm nostalgic about our friendship since his death...

I'm not going to link or discuss anything else I've already written about except this Using Good Scents

Because it touches briefly on an adventure that included a misadventure... of lost luggage, passports, money and credit cards and sleeping on the beach in Nice and picking up the pieces and having  one of the best times of my life... still one of my favorite places because of the expereience...Your happiness traveling, adventuring or going around the block depends largely on your state of mind... I've learned that life can be a mirror or a reflection of your everyday thoughts and actions. Sometimes an adventure or new experience can be right around the corner... when I first moved to NYC I worked as a model for art classes... the extra money came in very handy... but more importantly... I met people and made friends in a new place...

Some of the simple luxuries I've found on these adventures are...

• A wonderful nights sleep with fragrant air listening to the waves...
• Slow mornings...
• Freedom to choose the course of the day...
• Time to play...
• Long walks
• Great conversations...
• Reading a good book...
• ... and taking a nap...
• Wonderful food...
• Finding new friendships or common ground with a person or a place...
• Colorful sunrises and sunsets....

One of the biggest things for me is I love sharing these adventures... but I've never been afraid of traveling by myself, going to a concert, movie or having dinner alone in a restaurant....if you want to do something... don't wait... life moves too fast to wait for someone to do everything on your list... I learned late in the game that I could do anything and was everything I ever needed ...it's a magical discovery but even better shared with friends and loved ones.

So what is on my bucket list... I want to find people again who are a little out of my league and are further along than  I am in knowledge and experience... who have bigger, broader visions... I want to be exposed to new facets of thought and perspectives of life so that I can grow and expand to meet the world on a new levels... these are the people who helped me find my way and made each adventure memorable and important... as I've reflected on this... perhaps this is the role I need to accept as part of my quest and helping someone along with their list of dreams and adventures.

I really want to go back to some of the places I've already been to explore with new knowledge and experience... and find new places and people... There are people and experiences  you will encounter  in your journeys that are impossible to forget because they open a portal to a new version of your life and outlook... the thing about a bucket list... if it's a good one... you have to keep adding to it... I'm starting the list with... I'm going to start golfing again this year... and playing bridge (I miss doing both)...who knows where things will go from there...

See you next month... I'm going to outline something that was never on my to-do list... but I've spent the better part of the last four years preparing for.

Thanks for reading.