"Always you renounce a lesser good for a greater; the opposite is what sin is." - Flannery O'Connor
I keep seeing ads for Living Social’s “Albuquerque Bucket List”. I can’t help but wonder whether any of us really want to spend our last days (and all our money) in Albuquerque. For the most part, the things are the list are coupons and recommendations for restaurants. You can sign up to receive these special deals via e-mail. They put things like “Get a facial,” and “Visit the Rio Grande Bio Park,” on the list, and they call that a Bucket List? I’m beginning to wonder if they even know what a bucket list is. From what I understand, it’s the things you want to accomplish or experience before you die, not things you’d like to do next weekend if you have the time. Really, if you have never been to a zoo before in your life, and you’ve added that to your bucket list, please don’t waste it on Albuquerque’s zoo. Skip the overpriced facial and spring for a trip to San Diego.
Maybe I’m missing something. This list could be an exercise in appreciating the little things in life…. or the little things in Albuquerque. I’ve lived in this town my entire life, and I rarely take the time to enjoy it. It seems I'm always too busy trying to accomplish things, but when I look back a day, week or month, I see very little that really mattered. There must be a line between enjoying the simple things and focusing on trivial things.
I had a substitute teacher in my middle school orchestra class who asked us to make a list of things we want to do in our lifetimes. I put down, "fight with a monkey," and I suppose she legally had to pretend to support me in my unique aspirations. My tastes have matured slightly. Today, my "bucket list" is mostly comprised of places I'd like to travel to and skills I hope to learn. I want to learn a foreign language, master gourmet cooking, publish a book, and travel basically everywhere. If I ever make it to Africa, want to swim in "Devil's Pool" at Victoria Falls.
But none of those are things are actually meaningful in the grand scheme of things. I believe God gave us this world to enjoy, but never to become so lost in that any of his gifts compete with His lordship.
I could experience everything and learn everything human beings can learn, and I would still know next to nothing. If my pursuits were all of the highest, noblest nature, I still couldn't take any of it with me when I die. And most of my pursuits are not noble at all. I would be lying if I said I’m less shallow than most people. True, I’ve never been one to buy a lot of hair care products, and I don’t care what kind of car I drive… but there are some pretty trivial things that I really wish I had. I collect pictures of the things I look forward to and value in a folder labeled "daydreams" on my laptop.
A honey pot. These are hard to find nowadays. My mom had one. It broke a long time ago. I don’t have a picture of it, but I want one just like it. It isn’t just something I’d like to have. It’s very, very important to me, and for some reason, I don’t want to buy one online. Maybe I’m hoping a guy will surprise me with one someday, and then I’ll know he loves me… It’s more likely that I’ll find one I like in the next couple of years, and I’ll buy it myself. As long as my honey pot looks old-fashioned and comes with a real wooden dipper, I’ll be happy with it. This one comes close:
Maybe some day I’ll learn how to make one on a pottery wheel.
I also want a coat rack. I once tried to barter for one with a guy in whom I was somewhat interested - a coat rack for a back massage. He didn’t want the backrub badly enough to spend money, and I didn’t really want to give him one. We soon lost interest in the whole arrangement. I’m still looking for a coat rack.
I want a fancy fireplace screen.
I want to make my dresser look like this:
Or maybe more like this:
I'm trying to figure out how to combine the two looks with blue and gold, using both a parchment finish/color wash and a crackle finish. I may not be able to get a job with which I can support myself, but I'm confident that I can do this!
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