“Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
~ Dylan Thomas
Friends, I’m turning 40 this weekend! I’m also at the point in the year when I roll out of bed, groggily pull on some overalls, and head straight to the garden with a cuppa coffee.
The combination of heat + endless work + birthday vibes has me feeling like it’s a good time to share some of the lighter, fluffier post ideas I’ve had brewing.
Think of this like a summer beach read without the smut (although you really never know with me).
JK — I assure you this list is totally PG.
Anyway, I think that’s enough of a rambling intro. Here’s a fun and fabulous list of things I want to do/learn/see before I die. I’ve already gone skydiving, taken an African safari tour, and become decent enough at speaking Spanish — though I’m interested in becoming more fluent. Maybe that’ll show up on the list. You’re going to have to read it to find out.
Ooooh, cliffhanger!
Okay, I’m done. Here’s the list.
40 Things I Want to Do in My Lifetime
Take Irish Step Dancing lessons
Learn Arabic
Learn Gaelic
Take a formal course in medicinal herbalism
Get decent at surfing
Buy land in Southern Baja and build a sweet palapa
Publish at least a dozen novels/novellas
Precursor to #7 — finish and publish my first novel
Raft through the Grand Canyon with my husband
Get another camper van and use it to travel between our palapa in Baja and wherever else we set up homes (Maine, NC, etc.)
Do 30 pull-ups in sets of 5
Precursor to #11 — do one unassisted pullup
Spend Christmastime in Europe
Finish a 100-mile foot race
Visit all 50 states in the US (not too many left)
If it made financial sense I’d totally pursue a graduate degree in something like botany or medical anthropology but honestly have no clue what I’d do with such a degree, so… it may or may not happen
Receive formal training in shamanic healing — again, no clue where this will lead but am putting it out there because you never know
Master a spin kick
Keep bees
Get really good at making my own candles, herbal salves, teas, and tinctures, and basically have a fully stocked apothecary in my home
Visit Egyptian pyramids
Visit Mayan pyramids
Travel to Scotland, India, Iceland, and many other places
Complete at least one 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat
Visit the Himalayas
Get dreadlocks
Have a bitchin library/study in my house
Pet a capybara
Visit Alex and Allyson Grey’s Entheon
Get good at playing saxophone again
Buy a drum (or several) and get good at that, too
Publish at least one poem
Publish at least one nonfiction book
Try my hand at screenwriting (I know what I like)
Take private Muay Thai lessons
Hike/run the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim
Learn to sew well enough
Get into more deep conversations with strangers who become friends
Meet Bill Murray
Dance naked under at least a dozen Full Moons
There you have it, friends. I hope this list inspires you to create your own. And if you do, feel free to share!
I probably won’t publish a post next week with my birthday and Jason’s birthday and visits from family and friends coming up. But we’ll see, maybe I’ll surprise myself!
As always, thanks for reading, and I love you!
XoLauren