Life is Short: 101 things to do before you die
It always occurs to me whenever someone dies in a book that maybe they didn’t do everything they would have liked. Or, when a person is a ghost, and they talk about all the things they wish had happened in their human life. Or when a person is about to die and they suddenly realize that they love a fellow character because that will add drama to the plot line. In the latter case, generally the person ends up surviving, because the two characters haven’t yet declared their undying love for one another. Then one of them dies, and the other spends eight hundred pages talking about how his or her life has lost all meaning. But lets not get sidetracked.
The reason I wrote this is because everyone is going to have regrets in life. And not all of us are going to turn into vampires and thus live in tortured humanity forever, though that does sound fun. In a few installments, I’m going to put out a few things that I hope will prevent you from ending up writing auto-biographies that make me cry and are all about your regrets. In other words, when it comes to real life, fairy cake stories are good, like a beautiful gem in the horrific ocean that is the modern world. An ocean filled with poverty, cruelty, loss, greed, and so many unhappy endings. So many things will feed this ocean, anything that causes rage or stress or grief, from the queenofspain being ill to the loss of a child to a pregnant teenager whose family is too poor to afford to get her an abortion. A lot of things are out of our control, but the beautiful moments will sparkle, casting a ray of light through the darkness.
Though I can’t keep you from the things that will hurt in life, I hope that some of the 101 things that I am going to list will help you to build ties to your friends, family, community, and yourself.
I hope I can help you build and embrace that gem of hope.
To do list:
1. Dance in a grocery store
My mom does this. I used to be embarrassed and try to make her stop, but then I realized something: it’s fun! So now, whenever my mom and I are in a CVS or the Jewel-osco, and we hear a good song, we just dance, even though I look like a cockroach in its death throes when I do. People stare, but who cares? Letting go of your inhibitions and expressing yourself is a natural, healthy, beautiful thing to do. It sometimes takes an excellent mom to show you that when a person puts their soul into something, it shines.
2. Talk to the girl who everyone ignores
In the book in the Gifted series Out of Sight, Out of mind by Marilyn Kaye, a girl becomes invisible when she feels invisible. She’s ignored, or at best, made fun of. In New Moon by Stephanie Meyer, Bella has a recurring nightmare about being trapped in a void. In an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a girl becomes invisible because she is so plain that nobody notices her. These were all fictional cases, and though people might not literally become invisible, everyone deserves to be noticed. Bella is right to fear alienation. Sometimes, being brave enough to talk to the new kid, or the shy kid, or the kid with no friends, or the really weird kid will earn you a new best friend. Fate smiles kindly upon the brave.
3. Bake a cake with someone close to you.
It might be your husband (yes, I know, Denise. Patriarchy. Right.), your sister, your mom, your friend, anyone. Working together to build something, especially something caloric and delicious is fun. Making something successfully has a thrill of its own, but sharing is a true joy. I know it sounds corny, but some of the funniest, loveliest, most endearing moments are born in the kitchen. Not to mention the fact that everyone loves baked goods.
I will continue the list, but for now, “let them eat cake”.
August 7th, 2009Topic: Food, Life, Ramblings Tags: dessert, epiphany, Food, Life
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