Passing The Bucket

George Bernard Shaw wrote a very inspiring poem at a point in his life, that I feel that anyone with a pulse can gain some measure of insight from. Please read it before I continue.



True Joy Of Life



This is the true joy of life.

The being used for a purpose

Recognized by yourself as a mighty one.

The being a force of nature

Instead of a feverish, selfish

Little clod of ailments and grievances

Complaining that the world will not

Devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life

Belongs to the whole community

And as long as I live,

It is my privilege to do for it

Whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly

Used up when I die,

For the harder I work the more I live.

I rejoice in life for its own sake.

Life is no brief candle to me.

It is a sort of splendid torch

Which I've got hold of

For the moment

And I want to make it burn

As brightly as possible before

Handling it on to future generations.



I was suffering from a bad case of writer’s block so I decided to Google “How To Cure Writer’s Block”.

I read some very bizarre remedies and I refuse to admit if I acted on some of them.

One of the ideas was to go back and read works by authors we were fond of or even some we knew little about. I had always been intrigued by Shaw so I decided to explore some of his writings.

I came upon this piece and I began to think over the goals I hope to accomplish in my lifetime and I decided to create my own Bucket List.

For those not familiar with a Bucket List, let me briefly fill you in, these are the things you want to do before you kick the bucket. No matter how small or how grand they give you a guideline within yourself of what you dream of doing in and with your life.

I sat down and began compiling mine and I felt so good seeing it before me in my own writing.

I smiled because as I wrote it, I felt really good because one of the major dreams of my life I have done, I have written a book, but then I realized yes that is a biggie but I am just as proud of myself for learning to make biscuits from scratch, from my Mom.



To me learning to make homemade biscuits is just as big an achievement as writing the book. Both were personal goals I set for myself. I pulled out my baked beauties this morning and felt the most rewarding feeling. I set a goal, and I did it.



I read my list aloud, some of the items I dream of doing might seem impossible but how will I know until I try. As I always preach, If you can dream it, you CAN do it!



I think the act of sitting down with no distractions and actually putting pen to paper and seeing my list grow made it seem that much more attainable.



I think that sometimes unless we have a visual reminder of our hopes and dreams that it becomes too easy to put our desires on the back burner and after a while we forget they are even there. Only remembering them when we see someone else check an item off their list of to dos and we wish we had set out to achieve our own.



Me personally I think it’s often too easy to get wrapped up in the day to day living and lose sight of what we want. I know after getting up at 5 am and doing the morning shuffle of getting the kids off to school and sending them off laughing at me, or with me, I am still unsure which. But that is a whole other topic, like I was saying after the wheels of my day begin I just catch myself going through the motions in order to at long last fall into bed and start all over again.



Is that all we are living for? Just to barely make it? Just to get our daily deeds done and never look up from the present and on into our future? If you are trapped in that rut, then please by all means try making your own Bucket List. It gives you so much more to look forward to and aspire to. It generates a smile within yourself at the though of new dreams being met and new life changing events that can come from opening our minds to our own future.



Before you blow me off and say Oh good grief, here she goes again with her head in the clouds, hear me out.. Your list can be the simplest of acts, it can be to sit and read a book, call an old friend, things we think of after it’s too late to do because we missed the chance and won’t get it back or we just let it fall to the wayside. You can include large items to your list, and ya know, mine may sound crazy and out of reach but it keeps me reaching up, not lying on the ground wishing I was someone else or envious of someone else who had more motivation than me.



I know that if I hold my head high, looking up, reaching into my future, I will have the satisfaction of knowing I never looked back and dwelled in what I didn’t do, I plowed forward and lived my life, checking off items as I went. Maybe I won’t reach them all, but I am sure going to give it my best to at least be remembered when I do kick that bucket for always dreaming, always trying and always setting my sights on the big star. Because one of these days, I will hold that star in my hand and my glow will be brighter than it, because I did.



So today I am passing you the bucket, I challenge you all to sit down and make your own list.

I am going to share with you now in closing my ever growing Bucket List.

Here are my thoughts! Happy Day All!



Teresa ;)





~Teresa Hardister’s Bucket List



~Deep sea dive near the Great Barrier Reef



~Live at the coast.



~ Get dreadlocks at least once.



~Have the nerve to tell people how I really feel by putting myself first and not caring if I step on toes or hurt feelings.



~Cook with Paula Deen



~Thank Kenny Chesney personally for all that his music has done for me, lifting me and keeping me company on some pretty lonely nights.



~Meet my online friends who are more like family, who have welcomed me into their hearts and lives, I need to pass out some serious hugs to them.



~Write a book about issues that have plagued my past.



~Donate my time to help victims of rape.



~Get remarried, to someone who feels that in their heart, they can’t see a day without me, and us being together, skipping, loving and just being happy with each other.



~Improve my self image



~Write more hand written letters to people and actually mail them.



~Learn how to build a house.



~To show my serious side more and not be deemed the happy, funny, I have no worries or deep thoughts person I am perceived as very often.



~To seek out and find people I may have hurt and make amends.



~Break a Guinness Book record with Luke.



~ Write a song with Seth.



~Publish my poetry.



~Find a very close friend I lost a few years ago.



~ Learn to knit.



~ Finally get Christmas lights in the top of my gigantic cedar tree.



There ya have it, what I have so far! What’s yours??!!!!