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Saturday, October 30, 2010

The rest of the Bucket List-

Let's see. I covered the Disney thing, and the U.S. Routes. Western State exploration and touched on the National Parks. Ah, some specific locations.

Mackinac Island. Conveniently, Mackinac Island is at the end of the U.S. Route 2 journey. I don't think my wife, Linda, would enjoy a protracted road trip like Route 2. However, I am pretty sure she would like to see Mackinac Island. I think the only thing to do here would be to have her fly out and meet me near the island and we could visit it together. I think that would be cool.

Not as cool as having her along for these adventures, but not everyone is cut out for extended road journeys. For that matter, I can't even say for sure I am cut out for extended road journeys. It may yet prove to be a dream that is better as a dream than a reality.

Nah. I live for the road!

Savannah. Yep, I really want to share that one with her. She really wants to see Savannah, and it is definitely an adventure I would want to share with her. A destination travel adventure, but a pretty interesting one. I think that this one should be a high priority shared destination travel adventure.

I'd love to share the Boston and New York City adventures with her, as well. Oh, and Disney World, of course. As seemingly logical as incorporating these adventures into the Route 1 journey might seem, they really do stand up better as separate destination adventures. Route 1 will be huge in itself. Yes. Separate adventures, for sure.

Then there is the Smithsonian. Like Disney World, this is no small project. I have already visited the Smithsonian, but only a small sample on two separate visits to Washington, D.C. Even a week seems too little time for such a visit, excluding any other D.C. sightseeing. I suppose that this one would fit better into the Route 1 adventure. Stop in the D.C. area and visit the Smithsonian until weariness drives me onward.

There are a lot of things not listed in my Bucket List which draw me. Some may yet become sufficiently interesting to demand a place on my Bucket List. Others will probably remain vague interests.

For example, I have a desire to learn to play the mandolin. It is not a strong enough desire to demand a place on my list, but there is a vague urge there to learn to play at least one tune well. In line with this would be learning to read music well enough to play what I read. This desire, however, is not accompanied by a driving hunger, a motivating passion. It is just an interest slightly greater than a whim.

I can, after all, quite easily find recorded music to listen to and enjoy. The need to make music is not sufficient to drive this interest. This need may grow, or with the passage of time and the fulfillment of some of my list items I might just need something to add to the list.

Some things I did not place on my list because they ultimately are not my dreams but the dreams of others. I wish very much to participate in the achievements of my children and grand-children, but I don't want to limit their dreams with my desires. So, I do not make attending graduations, weddings and the like on my list.

There are other smallish activities and achievements I have not seen suited to a bucket list. For example, I recently learned loom knitting as a pastime to do while waiting for the house to sell. I have produced some nice items which are also useful to me. I have learned the basic skills, and continue to learn skills related to loom knitting. I may expand my fiber art horizons over time, and there are even some prospects for a family business related to fiber arts, but these things just don't seem to be bucket list material.

Other craft areas remain general interests, but are not likely to rise to passions. I view videos on the Internet regarding various crafts that relate to this or that transient interest, but again they are not passions and they do not rate a place on a bucket list. As opportunity presents itself and as I proceed through exploration of various life pathways I am sure I will acquire some of these skills and play a bit with arts and crafts.

In writing this series of blogs regarding my Bucket List I have come to one important conclusion. The Bucket List ought to be written in pencil, a document easily edited and adjusted over time. Digital documents, of course, are the best "pencil" documents, as they are very easy to edit. The Bucket List should be a sound guide for a life adventure, but should it become a burden it stops being a source of joy.

After all, the Bucket List should serve as a tool to wring every drop of joy from life that can be wrung. Joy in life is a worthy pursuit, and a Bucket List can help provide focus and direction in the pursuing. The future is a direction, not a destination, and in life it is the journey that matters most.

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