living to do

How many of us go about our business, day in and day out, doing the same things over and over again—work, school, kids, cleaning, cooking, sleep, repeat? In this kind of routine, we can often start to feel quite small, and our lives may lose some of the meaning they once held for us.

Becoming a part of something bigger than ourselves can remedy this situation. This does not necessarily mean joining a religion or spiritual practice, though that absolutely can satisfy this Living To Do item. Meditating every day, doing yoga or tai chi, praying, or connecting to a higher power can help you feel more connected to the universe or your creator, giving you more meaning in your days.

Read more >

After collecting several “Things to Do Before You Die Books” (at the continuous mocking of my husband), I’ve recently purchased a small but packed book which I believe houses the best Living to Do suggestions I’ve come across yet. The book, Dream It. List It. Do It! How to Live a Bigger & Bolder Life, from the Life List Experts at 43Things.com, has an astronomically long title. It also has thousands of great ideas for your own Living To Do list.

Read more >

I’m not much of a country fan, so I don’t know what it is with me and Tim McGraw songs lately!

A few days ago, my friends and I had a small discussion on Facebook after I posted this seemingly random question: “Let’s pretend that, as of today, we have exactly one year left to live. What will you do?”

Many friends postulated that if they had the time, the money, really only a year left, etc. they would do X,Y, Z. Some wanted to see relatives, others to pay off bills, or to see the world. But I clarified that my question is in regards to life right now, as we know it: If we could just live with the philosophy that this could very well be our last year (because, truth be told, it could; it always could), how could you create the life you want to live within your current situation and means? Or would you change your situation and means, perhaps? What would you do?

Read more >

I used to get so disgusted when I heard about people growing their nails out several feet (or longer) for fame or even simply for fun. How they heck do they eat, pick their noses, work? Just the look of those nails—often yellow, spiraling down like some kind of alien staircases out of a Wes Craven movie—were enough to send shivers down my spine. Ew…

But when you think about it, it is a personal choice. Some people are grossed out by tattoos or multiple piercings or biker chaps, right? None of those things really bother me, and if anyone said, “She/he is so gross for wearing that! How could she/he even go out in public?” about any of these people, I would probably feel offended on their behalves. To each their own, right?

Read more >

This article from Care2.com features some wonderful ideas about living in the dark. We humans are often so disassociated with the dark, viewing it as only a minor inconvenience; indeed, we have street lamps, electricity, and plenty of ways to avoid it. Many of us work at night, or even shop at night, during a time when most creatures are either asleep or hunting prey. Instead of further alienating ourselves from nature, why don’t we start celebrating the dark once in a while? Not only could we save energy, we could also help our children learn to love the dark and not fear it so much.

In addition to Care2’s wonderful list, here are more things to enjoy in the dark.

Read more >

As humans, we complain a lot. It’s not enough that we have food, shelter, cover, clothing, and lives to begin with—we always want more, more, more! And when we don’t get what we want, we complain. I’m guilty of sending a handful of product complaint letters myself. But when do we really give thanks for what we appreciate?

Do you have any of these on your Living To Do List?

Read more >

First of all—what a fun book! This has to be the best Living To Do book (and I’ve bought or read quite a few) I’ve ever come across. Written by three sisters, You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls is a jumbo book filled with things to do—the cover page declares, “Dare to Dream, Learn Something New, Do Something Just for You!” And it’s not like any other Bucket List book you’ve ever read.

For one thing, it’s written by a woman who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The book was Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas’ dream, a dream her sisters—Vaughn Catuzzi Lohec and Dara Catuzzi Near—shared and supported. With its heartfelt introduction and explanation about Lauren’s wish, the nonprofits that were set up in her honor, and simply getting the most out of life, it would be hard not to jump right into the book with both feet—talk about inspiring.

Read more >

It’s a hefty order to fill—a year without regrets? Many people claim that they have no regrets to begin with, but you have to wonder… if he or she didn’t regret dancing on the table and falling, crushing his or her hip and puking all over the bouncer at once, there’s probably something wrong. “Oh, it was a learning experience,” people will say—but can you honestly say you wouldn’t go back an change something in your life if you could?

Still, “No regrets” is a pretty positive mentality—even if some people might use it as an excuse to back out of personal responsibility. Why not try to live a year on that kind of mentality, while still keeping your conscience in the picture?

The thing is, I have so many regrets in my life that I don’t know how to even begin this way of living. Here are a few things I have in mind, but I’d love more input from those who say that they live without regrets.

Read more >

While it’s commendable to resolve to quit smoking, lose weight, and generally make yourself more fit, why not add a quirky, fun resolution to your list this year? Maybe you’ll be more likely to keep your resolutions if one of them is something that you actually look forward to. Here are a few ideas—be sure to add your own.

Make a daily resolution. I heard about a family resolving to take a photo together every day for the year; with digital cameras, this is definitely doable if you can remember to do it! What other daily resolutions would you enjoy? How about a daily joke, walk, small piece of chocolate, song download, mini self-foot massage, prayer or meditation, game…? The trick here is to not make too many resolutions; just pick one or two that you would really enjoy.

Read more >

Writing a novel is on the Living To Do list of many people, but it can be a pretty intimidating activity. Writing definitely takes time, and while some people can put out a novel a month, most writers take longer to produce a work of that length.

That said, it’s definitely a doable task; and what better time to accomplish this goal than during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? This approach to novel writing allows participants to worry about nothing but word count. Grammar, quality, plot—none of that matters during NaNoWriMo. The only thing that does matter is your output.

Read more >

This one might be harder to implement that you think. Most of us develop some sort of pattern—daily habits, or a rhythm—in our lives that’s hard to break. Such things can be very good for you, of course; making healthy meals, exercise, bedtimes and other rituals a part of your day is definitely optimal for a healthy body and mind. But too many mundane, same old, same old activities can not only cause you to get bored—they can also cause some health problems on their own.

Science says that adding a bit of variety or novelty to your routine can help prevent Alzheimer’s. Whether you do something new—such as learn something new, take up a class, or attend a lecture or play—or engage your brain with a novel activity such as a game or a book, you’re helping your brain stay active.

Read more >

Making another you just might be on your priority list—or, in this case, your Living To Do List—sometime or another in your lifetime. Hopefully you don’t want him or her to be exactly like you—not only would your flaws be replicated, but it would also probably be pretty boring (no offense). The route most people to take in making their own Mini Me is a pretty direct one: they have sex, get pregnant, and produce an infant. No big mystery there.

But if you really want to have a child and the how’s don’t matter so much to you as much as the child itself, there are plenty of other ways to acquire one. Just make sure you do so legally and ethically; kidnapping, cloning and buying babies may not be smiled upon where you are from.

Read more >

When you think about secret fantasies, you probably imagine a lot of strange things. Fetish clubs, swinger’s ads and jungle safaris all might come to mind. It seems like if the word fantasy isn’t about Tolkien these days, it’s about sex.

And that’s fine and dandy; if your secret fantasy is sexual and safe—and doesn’t harm anyone in the process—that’s cool. But when I think of a secret fantasy, I think of noodles.

Remember in Patch Adams when that elderly woman—the same one who played that darling promiscuous pianist in The Wedding Singer—confesses to Patch that her dream—a dream she’s had every since childhood— is to swim in a giant bowl of noodles? Her eyes light up and she squeezes her hand, it excites her so damn much.

Yeah, I dig that.

Read more >

When I talk to friends and family members about what’s on their “list,” many say they want to learn an instrument. It’s often the same one, too—the piano and guitar seem to make the top of the list quite frequently. I, too, have an instrument or two on my list—the piano and bagpipes, actually.

Back in middle school, when the chance to learn an instrument was offered, I tried to take it. I wanted to pound the drums, envisioning myself the first female member of AC/DC (yes, today I see how masochistic that would be… I also wanted to shave my head and join the White Sox.). Alas, my family’s budget would not allow for such stuffs.

Read more >

Though you may have “get high” period on your list, today we’re talking about natural and legal ways to do it! You might think you’re a pretty straight-edge person who has never gotten high in your life. You may think that you’ve raised your kids to be completely wholesome, and that there’s no chance in hell that they’ve ever been high, either.

And you just might be wrong!

You’ve probably already gotten high through one of these natural (and legal) ways. If you haven’t, and you want to say “Yeah, I’ve been high!” try one of these things to get it checked off your Living To-Do List.

Read more >

smileySure, you’re aware that you exist. You eat, right? You pee. You probably work and sleep, and somewhere in the middle you glance in a mirror. You’re pretty sure you’re a solid (partly liquid, you guess) bipedal sentient creature with a conscience, sex drive, and general stuff to do.

But just how self-aware are you? Do you know who you would take with you if you were stranded on a desert island? Do you know what 25 random things about yourself you would share if you were asked to do so on Facebook? If an elephant, a chiropractor, and a fungus walked into a bar, would you know what the punch line should be?

September is International Self-Awareness Month, so what better time to get reacquainted with yourself then now? If one of the things on your Living To-Do List is to really get to know who you are, this is a good time to check that off. But how?

Read more >

The Taj Mahal. The Coliseum. The Pyramids of Giza. The Great Wall. Everyone is entranced by some place—or many places!—that just calls to them, that makes them want to embark on a pilgrimage—or at least the next flight—to simply say they’ve seen it.

Maybe it’s something in your roots; perhaps your family is from Ireland and you want to kiss the Blarney Stone. Perhaps your native tribe heritage makes you want to visit some sacred landmarks in the U.S.

Or maybe you’re simply a history buff interested in different things. My husband wants to see Alcatraz, for example. Or maybe you just yearn to see something majestic, like the ocean, or Stonehenge.

For me, it’s the Neuschwanstein castle. I know it’s a product of such squandered resources, but damn if I don’t wish to see its marvels every day.

Read more >

Odds are that you’ve got “Meet Angelina Jolie/ Barack Obama/ Bob Dylan” or something similar on your Living To-Do List already. And if you don’t—why not? Surely there’s somebody out there who tickles you fancy and is just famous enough to remain out of your reach (for now).

Meeting a famous person is something that anyone can add to their list, and something pretty much anyone could accomplish. Take a look at my famous person-I-would-give-a-foot-to-meet—author Stephen King. While I don’t live near him and have no idea where he shops, I could probably meet him easily enough at a book signing if I simply paid attention.

(Of course, I’d only be able to murmur baby gibberish as I’d try to get him to sign my book, but a checkmark on your bucket list is a checkmark no matter what.)

Here are some other ways to meet the famous person on your list.

Read more >

Almost everyone’s bound to have something sexy on their Living To-Do List. And why not? Sex is a healthy part of life, if taken seriously and responsibly, and there are plenty of things out there to satisfy anyone’s cup of tea.

I have a smattering of sexy things sprinkled throughout my own list, and while I’m not going to specifically mention them out of respect for my hubby, I am going to list a few suggestions that you may want to have on your own list. (Yes, it’s safe to say that at least a couple of these are on my list!)

Please don’t be offended if this list seems to be directed at only monogamous relationships, as I’m writing from my own perspective and experience (in some cases). If you have any other experiences you’d like to share please feel free to do so.

Read more >

Now that I’ve seen The Bucket List and subsequently seen dozens of people’s bucket lists popping up here and there, I’m now noticing another format to the Living To-Do List—the Wish List. My aunt, who was reading a fictional book by the same title, told me about her own Wish List.

“Your wish list?” I asked, thinking it would be things to buy at Wal-Mart or things for my husband to do, like rearrange furniture. “Things to buy or things to do?”

“Things to do,” she told me, and showed me a list of twenty things she’d like to do—ranging from picnicking at the local park to seeing so many movies in a theater.

Ahh. A Living To-Do List! I was pretty excited to see that she’d started her own—I’m a bit proponent of people making their own lists—and it got me thinking about a book I’d bought when I was in the hospital called The Wish List.

Read more >

CPRNumber 1 on my Living To Do list is “Save a Life.” Some friends have even told me that I’ve done this for them, in various ways, but I would say that’s pretty much an exaggeration! Ideally my saving a life would be rescuing someone out of human trafficking—my dream is for that to end forever—but I have no idea how I could do that. Still, it could happen.

If you want to save a life, there are a number of things you can do to get it crossed off your Living To Do list. Try one of these or add your own.

Learn CPR and first aid. Then you’ll be ready to save a life in many situations. Try your local Red Cross or other health services to find a training near you.

Donate blood, marrow, or partial organs. You can also become an organ donor and have your organs donated to people after you die. This is absolutely life-saving.

Read more >