Bucket lists

I don't believe in them. Do you want to know why?

Because I feel that you should live every day like it is your last, love with every ounce of your being, and pursue your dreams. Never go to bed angry, always tell your family you love them when you leave or hang up the phone. Smile at strangers. Be open to new experiences. Do not shy away from difficulty and pain, allow yourself to learn from it.

And that thing...the thing that speaks to your soul and stokes a fire within you. THAT should be your daily focus. Because how can you feel anything but happy, fulfilled, and at peace with your life if each day you spread love and appreciation. 'If you love what you do then you will never work a day in your life.' 

Why are you doing something because society tells you that is how it should be? Why go to a job that you detest every morning because someone else has told you that is what is right? Why do they get to tell you what is right and what should be? This is your life, you get to decide that for yourself. (life isn't that simple you may say- so just start small)

You don't need a bucket list. You need to live every day as if it were your last. You need to listen to your intuition. You need to follow your dreams. Let your heart and soul speak for you and stop thinking so much. 

There is something that each of us is meant to do. That which makes us want to sing and dance at the end of each day. The thing that makes your eyes light up with wonder and joy. There is something that draws you towards it like a gravitational pull.

Should, supposed to, socially acceptable, correct, right, need to...you name it and people will say it. They will come along and tell you why you shouldn't do the thing that lights the fire within you because they may not understand it. 

But Howard Thurman said it best, 'Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.'

The people who do what makes them come alive are those who will change the world in the most magnificent way. They work with a passion that cannot be matched because that is where they are truly meant to be. When they do that thing, they radiate a contagious energy that makes people want to be near them, learn from them, and believe in them.

What makes you come alive? Make your way towards that. This world is not a perfect place and it is not always as easy as just giving up what you do that makes the money to help you live, and support your family and I understand that. But if you begin to manifest the change of which you seek, it will come to you. It may not be easy - there will be road blocks, hurdles, terrible jobs that you hate, people who tell you that you can't. Persist. This world needs you. It needs the light within you glowing so bright that it could blind the nearest passerby. Your heart is beating and you are breathing. You can make it through the difficult moments - they will not last forever. I repeat: the difficulty will pass, breathe through it, and the bliss which follows is inexplicably delicious. 

I challenge you to do something each day that makes you come alive.

Today I took in fresh air. I marveled at the autumn trees and the fiery tips of their leaves. I began my ninety minute yoga practice - but stopped after forty-five minutes - because, hey, I'm tired, why not. Today I told myself - I am going to travel across the country and see all the astonishing wonder it has to offer. I am going to continue teaching yoga. I am on my way to finding my place in this crazy, complicated, and confusing world. 

And that my friends, is a start.

Be gentle. Be kind. Live lightly. Breathe fully. Manifest your dreams. Then chase them.