Archive for February, 2010
life missions and promises to an older self
Posted: February 24th, 2010 under about me, beliefs, inspirations, life, life in the future, spirituality, thoughts.
Tags: family, friends, inspiration, kindness, love, people
These lists will be updated as I think of more. The items are in no particular order.
By the End of My Life:
- I want to have made every decision I ever wanted to make and have no regrets about the past.
- I want to have left something behind that outlives my life and that continues to make a difference in the world (mainly my teachings, films, writings, and future children).
- I want to have left the world a much more loving, compassionate, understanding, and forgiving place.
- I want to have found laughter and beauty everywhere possible.
- I want to have given everything I could’ve given in all my years on earth.
Promises to an Older Self:
- To always fill my room and office with mementos of loved ones (whether photos of them or cards and letters from them)–NOT diplomas, degrees, and awards. My greatest pride is in the love I have given and the love that has been given to me, not in my achievements and titles. Framed plaques don’t fully symbolize the ways I grew or capture my fondest memories. That credit always belongs to the people I’ve met along the way.
- To continue being curious about the world, life, and the people around me. To continue to read and write. To continue to teach and learn.
- To know that when I come home from work really tired and my kids rush towards me and nearly pull me down to the floor with their excitement, that these moments won’t last for long and that I should cherish the few years they’ll be doing that.
- To romance my wife in old age. To be content and appreciative of our changed type of love but still pursue her as if we were dating. Every day, to make her feel as loved as ever and desirable beyond measure.
- For my wife and I to be that set of grandparents whose gentleness, wisdom, and stories make kids wonder where we get our sense of caregiving from.
- For my wife and I to be that couple whose laughter, adventure, and joy of life make people wonder where we get our energy from.
- To continue to tell everyone what they’ve meant to my life and to continue to hear what I’ve meant to their lives.
- To continue to remind myself every day that the greatest gift the world gives me is the awareness that I will have to die someday. With that, I make my life as full of peace, love, and happiness as possible and I make my existence as full of purpose as possible and as much of a legacy as possible.