Breathe in and then move

While I was busy returning to my list, gazing at what I had let bubble up as important, and trying to manipulate it into a manageable checklist to be crossed off at reasonable chronological checkpoints it stared back and began to percolate from its own side.

"Move and the way will open."

                               ~Zen Proverb

Twice in less than twenty-four hours this sentence introduced itself. Once on Monday night, at yoga class, I heard the teacher share this with another student and again the next morning it popped up as my quote of the day on some silly App attached to my phone. This proverb is already proving itself true with this experiment.

I found out when I got to yoga class (No, number 11 can't be crossed of yet. One class does not a practice make.) that it was Karma Night and all the money collected would be donated to a local food bank. Very cool, indeed. But then the question arises, does one very small and very unintentional donation warrant crossing off number 51? I don't think it does, but a few more Monday night visits and letting all my friends know about this class might.

AND THEN yesterday when I went onto Facebook, a friend had left a post about this and this. Number 10 seems to have it's days numbered.

The List

A few nights ago, a really good challenge floated out of all the typical Facebook chatter. A friend toyed with the notion of creating a list of a 101 goals to be accomplished in a 1001 days. I was smitten with the idea and after a couple of false starts, I have completed my list. For accountability reasons I have chosen to blog about it. Thanks for humoring me in this !!! And check out her list, too.


1. Learn to kayak
2. Take a sailboat ride
3. Go on a glider
4. Explore Orcas Island
5. Visit 30 different beaches
6. Go camping somewhere besides a campsite
7. Go on at least 50 forest hikes
8. Take my family to Alaska, preferably not on a cheesy cruise ship
9. Hike out to Hat Island at low tide
10. Go snowshoeing

11. Start a regular yoga practice
12. Gain some upper body strength
13. Kick the sugar habit
14. Start taking a multi-vitamin
15. Drink more water
16. Become a vegetarian
17. Cut out dairy
18. Go raw once a week
19. Have a check up at an acupuncturist
20. Have my cholesterol & blood sugar levels be stellar

21. Walk in the Seattle 2011 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure
22. And the 2012 (maybe in San Diego)
23. Help my youngest son raise enough money to be able to walk in this the 2011 3-Day with me
24. Become a training walk leader
25. Convince 3 people to walk the 3-Day
26. Give 101 people the chance to make a donation to the Susan G.
Komen 3-Day for the cure.
27. Somehow, help a teammate reach a goal
28. Let myself be totally and amazingly inspired by a fellow walker
29. Walk 5005 miles
30. Run in The Inspiring Hope 5k

31. Spend more time in my flower beds
32. Enlarge the berry patch
33. Get the hammock out of the basement and hang it...promptly spend an afternoon in it
34. Get some chickens (34a. Fix up the chicken coop)
35. Plant some more fruit trees
36. Grow enough veggies to feed my family
37. Start canning homegrown food
38. Build a greenhouse
39. Compost kitchen scraps more consistently
40. Begin selling the extra harvest

41. Take a photography class
42. Get a better camera
43. Start blogging once a week again
44. Publish a cookbook
45. Publish a calendar
46. Organize all my old photos and digital pics
47. Finish that cross stitch project I started about a 1001 days ago!
48. Sell a photograph
49. Post 365 photos in 365 days
50. Take a ceramics class

51. Help out at a food bank
52. Put solar panels on the house
53. Make homemade hummus
54. Have a family photo taken
55. Gather more information about life coaching
56. Decide whether or not to become one
57. Paint the upstairs bathroom
58. Get a promotion
59. Take an RV trip with the hubby & kids
60. Drop 30 lbs

61. Meditate more
62. Parent and spouse (yes, I am using it as a verb) more mindfully
63. Hear my spiritual guide teach again
64. Attend a retreat
65. Begin teaching meditation in my Buddhist tradition
66. Stop worrying
67. Be happy
68. Apply more effort
69. Find joy daily
70. Create a beautiful & peaceful home for my family and our guests

71. Start each day with a clear intention
72. Be passionate
73. Be kind
74. Listen to music more often
75. Use more color
76. Do something random & crazy with my kids
77. Do something random & crazy with my husband
78. Do something spectacular involving chocolate
79. Do something for Children's Hospital
80. Visit the Seattle Asian Art Museum

81. Check out Portland
82. Create!
83. Be grateful - for everything
84. Listen deeply to others
85. Go to Africa (OK, I admit this one is a long shot)
86. See some whales
87. See a good play, it's been way too long
88. Spend a weekend in Vancouver, BC
89. Take a family trip to Whistler
90. And the Methow Valley

91. Learn to make sushi
92. Start making homemade salad dressing
93. Take a class from the North Cascade's Institute
94. Let my family know, everyday, that I love them
95. Find ways to reduce the trash our household makes
96. Make time to see friends in person (vs relying so much on technology )
97. Celebrate a Winter's Solstice, complete with bonfire, music & merriment
98. Grow sweet peas, especially pink ones
99. See The Hundred Languages of Children Exhibit
100. Tube down a river
101. Restart my free-lance writing gig