Every once in a while something catches my attention and then it slips away. Luckily, the Universe has a way of putting that same something back on my radar, until I finally sit up and pay attention. That happened to me this week. The first something was a nagging feeling that I needed to make myself some serious to do lists. Ordinarily, I would have jumped right on the idea of list making, but for some reason, I was feeling very resistant and shoved the feeling away. Far away!
The second blip on the radar was the photo at the top of this post. It's from mocoloco.com and depicts a public interactive installation in New York City’s SoHo by the artist collective, illegal art. It's a giant to-do list made up of hundreds of Post-its that "beckons to passersby to jot down their tasks, promises and commitments. This installation is meant to encourage self-reflection and is intentionally dead easy so that participation is painless." Isn't it cool? I thought so - and then I promptly forgot about it.
Much later, I went to the website of my favorite astrologer, Rob Brezsny, and realized I had somehow skipped my horoscope for previous week. And guess what he was talking about? That's right - to do lists! Okay, so now I was paying attention, but I wasn't especially happy about it until I realized that his idea of a to do list was much more interesting, much less mundane, and much more helpful than any list I could have come up with on my own!
Rob suggested that I jot down a master to do list. A list to end all lists. This master list of lists could include:
1. Five things I might be able to do to make my work more satisfying.
2. Five things I could do to streamline and upgrade my financial life.
3. Five thinks I could do to make my approach to love and intimacy work better for me.
4. Five things I could do to take better care of my health in more proactive ways.
5. Five little things I've got to do before I even think about starting the next big thing I want to do.
6. Three experiences that waste my time and derail my energy and that I therefore plan to phase out.
7. Three mediocre things I spend my money on that keep me from spending my money on more important things.
I'm still working on my list, and you know what? It's hard, but very enlightening and I can see that this could well be the most rewarding to do list ever. I hope you consider giving this a try, too, and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes for me as I work on this new approach to self-improvement.
Blessings, Robyn