I like lists because they keep me out of trouble

I like lists – I’m not sure why because I don’t always follow what is written down but maybe it is the process of writing it down and crossing it off that does my heart good. It feels like accomplishment even if I was going to do it anyway – like get gas, go the PO box, go to the store…

Now lest you think I don’t follow through there are some days I start at the top of my list and work my way down to completion but for the most part I get half of it done and start creating another list…   I’m sure they have official sounding name for people like me…

A while back I heard a story on NRP – about a guy who collected random lists from the grocery story – I looked the info up on line and sure enough my memory served me correctly – the book is called Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery lists lost and found, and it is by Bill Keaggy – he is features photo editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The book is a compilation of abandoned grocery lists that have been discovered in grocery carts, market floors, and parking lots across the country.

If we are what we eat, then this book reveals deep truths about the average American (not to mention more mundane truths like a surprising number of people enjoy onions, and, for most people, banana and mayonnaise are very, very difficult words to spell).

When looking online at some of the list I had to laugh not only at the bad spelling (hope I never lose my list now) to the type of lists… some on a back of a napkin, or a post-it notes, or on a dollar bill, or the back of a greeting card – no matter where they wrote down the info it was an entertaining read.

I seem to find lists online a lot and I’ve given you a few in the past but recently I have come across more than usual the number of good things I need to know that showed up on someone’s list…

3 ways nice people are sabotaging you

5 habits of really smart people

8 thing really successful people do

10 ways to be less awkward

15 things you should give up to be happy

30 things to do before you die… by Shannon Kaiser  – let me read some of these to you…

And one of my favorites was written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio her list is filled with wisdom, insight, and advice on how to live the most successful, fulfilling life.

Here are a few of the gems she says…

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short – enjoy it…
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
10. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
11. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
12. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it…
14. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
15. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
16. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
17. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.
18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
21. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
22. The most important sex organ is the brain.
23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
25. Always choose life.
26. Forgive but don’t forget.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does..
31. Believe in miracles.
32. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
33. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
34. Your children get only one childhood.
35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
38. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.
39. The best is yet to come…
40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

My own list although long comes down to a few words of wisdom…  “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”