Life To-Do List

It's time for us to hear from YOU. Do you have a Life To-Do List - otherwise known as a "bucket list?" Are there things you want to accomplish or experience in your life? I've thought quite a bit about this, and realize that my own list has two problems: it's vague, and focuses on what is known as the "tyranny of the urgent." I'll give you two examples. Traveling is on my Life To-Do List, but I haven't quite narrowed it down to an exact location. My life is so hectic at the moment that I'm anything but particular about travel destinations. I told someone yesterday that I'd take a weekend in the woods with a tent if I could just wrestle myself away from the constant obligations that keep me here. But I'm determined to get more specific with the list, choose some places, and start planning. The other problem with my list: I've included things that "must" be done. My list includes, "finish graduate school." Since I'm already two semesters in, that should be a given. It's a bit like filling a daily to-do list with entries like "brush teeth" and "feed dog." A Life To-Do List should force us to look past the moment, and dream about something outside of the urgency of everyday life. What are your deep-down desires? Where do you long to go? Whose life do you want to influence? How can you make the world a better place? This is an opportunity to make a list of what you want to do, rather than scribble yet another list of what you need to do. I like that idea.

I'm curious about your list. Or maybe just nosy. But at Mia, we believe that when we share our stories - even the small stories - we gain strength for our own journey. Is an entry on your Life To-Do List a story? I believe it is. Here is what we would love to receive from you: tell us one thing that is on your Life To-Do List, and why it is important to you. You don't have to write much - only 50-100 words. We'd like to publish a collection of these small stories in the Summer issue of Mia. You can send yours to lisa@miamagazine.net. In the meantime, if I can find that tent and scout out a place in the woods, I'm going to work on my own list. I look forward to hearing from you!
-Lisa