50 New Things

Instead of saying, "How old are you?", the Italians say, "Quanti anni hai?" or, "How many years do you have?" In a little over a month, I shall have 50 in my basket of years, something that, quite frankly, feels more than a bit strange to say. I seem to have misplaced the body I used to have, as well as the face that went with it. And yet, I seem to have acquired something that passes for wisdom, in fact, may very well be. So, while I occasionally wish for the body I used to have with the wisdom I have now (think of all those bad relationships I would have skipped! Oh, but wait, darn it, is that where the wisdom came from????), I know that's just my own little fantasy.

How to celebrate my half-century of life on this planet? I've been pondering this for about six months. Do I go around the world? Do I take trapeze lessons in Costa Rica? Do I have a party? I wasn't sure, I just wanted whatever I decided to be meaningful, significant, and enrich my life.

So, this is what I came up with: 50 New Things To Do That I've Never Done Before.

There's a movie out right now called, "The Bucket List", starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The movie is about all the things they want to do before they "kick the bucket" and the trailer shows them skydiving and hanging out at the pyramids. I'll guarantee that I'd sign up for that list in a heartbeat if I had a good producer and an unlimited budget but since I don't, I'll have to improvise.

Everybody wants to know: what's on your list? Hell, I don't know yet, I just had the idea last week. I do know that it most likely won't involve bungee jumping or getting anywhere near a tattoo parlor. I want this to be ordinary things that you always think about doing, but just for some reason, never get around to doing. Like giving a stranger $50, or volunteering at a soup kitchen. I don't think I'll count things I accidentally do that I've never done before, I'm not sure yet. The idea is to intentionally grow by doing new things.

My observation is that our worlds naturally contract as we get older. We may become physically limited, and become more comfortable with things that are familiary. Or maybe, by the time we've been around 25,550 days (that's 70 years, give or take a leap year), we've simply done a lotta stuff. And some of it we simply don't want to do any more. The 'new' things that interest us enough to get off the couch are harder to find. By challenging ourselves to get out of our rut by trying new things, we develop a habit of keeping ourselves on the vital edge of life, a place I want to always reside.