Bucket List

Over the last five years, almost six now, I’ve spent quite a chunk of my time figuring out a manageable bucket list.

I’m a firm believer that thoughts shape (and reshape) reality at will and as long as I can focus on my list and decide, “this is what I’m going to do,” my thoughts and positive energy will manifest around me. Those items on my bucket list will be checked off, one by one.

Hey… a fella can dream, right? Gotta keep the positive energy alive and kicking at all costs.

Someday I’ll return to Bermuda. In the Old Life I was blessed with a trip. Through Norwegian Freestyle Cruising, I was three days at sea to the island on a floating adult playground, two days docked at King’s Landing, and three days back. While it was an adventure and enjoyable for the most part, it wasn’t truly my vacation. I want to do, what I want to do.

Therefore, I plan on returning with Nancy someday. I know having her by my side, will truly be “my” vacation. It will assuredly be her vacation as well. We both share almost all the same interests so saying it’s “my” vacation, doubles as hers and vice versa.

I’ll have to jump through some hoops for awhile however. That departure from Boston Harbor moving at eight miles an hour across the sea, is something I’m very much looking forward to.

Because I’m a fan of the ocean, I’d also like to take an Alaskan Cruise in the future. Walk the icebergs. Witness the brilliance of the Aurora Borealis up close and personal in all it’s shimmering and wavy green glory. See the night sky as it was meant to be seen; crystal clear and unobstructed. More lights and colors than can be imagined. I’m not even sure what to fully expect on an excursion such as that… yet, I’m drawn to it for some reason.

I’d like to visit Machu Picchu in Peru. Touch the citadel’s stonework and walk the trails of antiquity. Stand at the tallest point of the remains and survey the Andes from up high. In the vein of ancients ruins, I’d also enjoy a visit to the Bolivian Highlands to see Puma Punku firsthand and walk the streets of the City of the Gods.

To one day stand at the base of any pyramid, is on the list of things to accomplish on my list.

I can play the meanest air guitar you’ve ever seen. I can jam to any song and someday I’d like to learn to play a real stringed instrument.

The piano has always fascinated me and tugged at my heart strings as well. Someday I’ll devote some time to learning the piano. I’ve even had a love for the harmonica at one time, but the guitar and piano come first.

I thoroughly enjoy Comic Con. It’s the one place on Earth I can be certain I’m surrounded by like minded individuals. I was able to attend one in Rhode Island with some close friends a few years back and had a blast.

San Diego is the highest on the list of cons. New York would suffice, but San Diego Comic Con is the dream. I will also attend a Star Trek Convention one day. I’ve been in the presence of Nichelle Nichols and have Walter Koenig’s autograph and being in their vicinity has a welcoming family vibe to it. Star Trek was the cornerstone of my childhood.

I’d love to invest some time in drawing and artwork. Painting. Utilizing technology to create. Conjuring a picture in my mind and having the ability to transfer that image to paper, monitor or canvass. All I can seem to muster today is stick figures and shapes. I suck at Pictionary.

Writing a novel. Writing a series. Writing a screen play. Returning to Six Flags and playing like a child with my child in a water park. I would like to try windsurfing, being rolled down a steep hill in one of those inflatable hamster wheels, colliding into others on the way down. I wish to learn to water ski, go snowboarding again, own my own boat and have a tiny getaway cabin nestled away in the woods with a stream nearby.

Someday Nancy will own a motorcycle. To be frank, they scare the crap out of me, but my bucket list includes Nancy and her desires, and I would love to surprise her with one someday. Seeing those tears of joy, would be worth every penny.

My youngest would relish in the thought of spending a few hours (or an overnight) in a haunted location (be it a castle or abandoned hospital) with “ghost hunting” equipment. Using thermal scanners and high end cameras, tip toeing empty halls with a digital recorder and looking for electromagnetic spikes and listening for creepy noises. To be able to say, “let’s do this,” would be amazing.

Having a small piece of land to do what I please, is located in the middle of the list. I’ll never pay a mortgage again so saving up will be a lengthy process, but it will happen someday. I’ll have a small manageable garden on my property and the cabin will be just far enough away from civilization, yet within walking distance if necessary.

To shake the hands of Nathan Fillion, Ozzy Osborne, Harrison Ford and Kate Mulgrew and say with an awkward smile, “I am a HUGE fan.”

I’ve never ridden or operated a snowmobile and would enjoy the opportunity.

One thing I’ve always wanted to participate in is a zero gravity plane ride. Or float, spin and twist inside a wind tunnel.

In actuality, the list is lengthy. Do you have a bucket list? Are you checking them off one by one or little by little? To live is more than just existing. Life needs to be lived. I suggest, if you don’t have a bucket list started, start one ASAP. Focusing on a bucket list provides focus in life. As long as we’re striving to accomplish those things we wish to accomplish, then we’re more than just existing and striving towards being better than we were the day before. It becomes more about living and experiencing the joys of life. If needed, start small. Work towards the tougher or smaller items on the list, first. Find a way to check them off.

That’s where I’m at in this phase of life and living. Working towards the toughest of the list, first and foremost. So many things I wish to do, but time is an enemy that shows no remorse. It doesn’t slow down. It never stops. Out of all the items on my list, one takes precedence and is elevated to the one that needs to be accomplished above all others. Regardless of the outcome or lack thereof. A personal quest that needs to be conquered before attempting to tackle anything else below it.

I will not rest and fully pursue any other bucket list item, until I finish and self publish my first book.

I will not focus on anything else. I will not attempt to stray from the goal. I have a single minded focal point that drives me forward and keeps me rooted.

Once completed, I’ll work on the others on the list. Finish the series… then perhaps use some free time to learn the guitar.

I don’t speak often on writing. One thing I’ve learned through the process, above everything else, is the fact it’s NOT easy. Like an onion, writing is multi layered and at times, tear inducing.

The phases of writing a body of work not only include actually writing it, releasing it from the confines of the mind, reading, changing, adding, subtracting, rereading, the complexities of the edits, and finding the right people who want to see you succeed as much as you, but the personal emotions that accompany the process.

Doubt. Anger. Fear. Impostor Syndrome. Sadness. Anxiety. More doubt. Commitment. Perseverance. More fear. Above all the others on my lengthy list of things to get done with the remainder of my days, the book comes first.

And I’ve come to a personal conclusion through the process of writing, and sharing with others.

If I’m able to conquer those emotions and push through it all… to check off that toughest one, highest on the list–

–Anything is possible. Anything at all. The world is ours once we stop existing and start living instead.

I’m ready to live.

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