Recently, my daughter and I were discussing bucket lists. She said she has a mental one, nothing written down. I do too, but feel the need to begin writing it down as I seem to forget more than I remember these days. If you are like me, and want to address some things before you kick the bucket, maybe this post will help.

I feel like I have spent my life seeking reality. Real people, real values, real solidity in nature, just real “stuff”. I have learned now, I think, to not pay so much attention to other people and what they think. The world is full of rules, and most of them can and should be broken.

There is a saying in Buddhist tradition – be present, in the moment. That is good advice. If you are living every moment to its fullest, you should not regret any second of your life. You can also use that to be more attentive to others, and give better advice when it is asked of you. And when you are living in the moment, your creative expression becomes much more easily obtained, and valuable to you.

Change is inevitable. We change every moment, even though we may not be aware of it. Our cells are changing as they do the work set before them. Nature changes. Watch a cloud as it moves across the sky and you will see what I mean. So as life goes on, and changes come, just accept them and release them back into the world. 

Fear is unnecessary. Why should we fear anything? Our creativity is ours. If we fear what others think, or say about it, we should be ashamed of ourselves, because we should not be worried about that. The only we please is ourselves in the act, and in the end result. All else is the fickleness of human experience. Which by the way, changes like the clouds.

And, finally, we should be putting “fun” into that bucket list. Having fun, laughing, smiling, being friendly, sharing goodness and kindness with others, well…that’s what we are supposed to be doing. At all times. In all ways.