Time Running Out

I read this line and it hit me. "The ultimate horror is not death. The ultimate horror is to wake up at age fifty-five or sixty and realize that you have wasted your life; either that time has slipped past while your dreams waited, or that you never had any dreams at all." (Stars & Steppingstones: Some choices only come around once. By Jeff Sandefer) Right now I am 45 and the things that I have been wanting to do are happening but not to the extent that it could. Reading that line and thinking that 55 is only 10 years away is eye-opening. 

I created a bucket list a few years ago of the things that I would like to do in my lifetime. Randomly I would look at it and think that it would be cool to accomplish more of the things on my list. I am grateful that I have been able to cross a few things from the list. For an assignment in class, we had to come up with 50 bucket list items. I already had about 25 already and added more to the list. It took some time but I did it. Here are my items just for reference.

Bucket List

(Things in blue are done.)

  1. Enter the church art contest 

  2. Write and publish a children’s book (or more)

  3. Travel to Banff National Park

  4. Attend as many temples as I can. (in progress)

  5. Travel to Scotland and visit the ancestral castle. Rowallan Castle.

  6. Get Bachelor’s degree (in progress)

  7. Live in Hawaii again (lived there for a few months going to school)

  8. Visit Prince Edward Island with high school friends

  9. Take a hot air balloon ride

  10.  Attend Midieval Times

  11. Get Ham radio license

  12. Visit husband’s mission with him (Merido, Mexico mission)

  13. Hike Phantom Falls

  14. Go to General Conference in person

  15. See the Tabernacle Choir in person

  16. Drive on the left side of the road (like England)

  17. Stay at the Mayhurst Estate

  18. Go to an active volcano and see lava live

  19. Hike Diamond Head in Oahu, HI

  20. Visit all the Hawaiian Islands (visited Oahu, Big Island, and Maui)

  21. Go to the top of Mauna Kea at sunset and stargaze at the visitor’s center

  22. See the Northern lights in person

  23. Visit Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

  24. Contact the International Space Station with Ham radio license

  25. Visit the church history sites

  26. Go skydiving

  27. Sell my graphic designs consistently (in progress)

  28. Own a graphic design business (in progress)

  29. Work for the church on a project in some way

  30. Live my life so that I return with honor

  31. Read all the books in my house 

  32. Organize my house and get rid of clutter (in progress)

  33. Run in the Ragnar

  34. Do a triathlon

  35. Build something out of wood

  36. Be better at cooking meaning planning healthy meals

  37. Go on a girl’s trip with mom and sisters

  38. Go on a girl’s trip with friends (did once but this is for different group)

  39. Go on a trip to the East coast to see historical sites and Smithsonian

  40. Make a quilt out of old vintage sheets.

  41. Get my passport

  42. Get straight A’s (So far so good. In progress)

  43. Go on a road trip across the US

  44. See a tornado safely in person

  45. Go to the temple every week my whole life to the best of my ability. (In progress. Started in 2015.)

  46. Draw every day for a year

  47. See my children go through the temple

  48. Organize my craft room (in progress)

  49. Finish all projects in the craft room

  50. Go ziplining over a vaste canyon of trees.


After looking at my list and highlighting the things that I have done and putting (in progress) with the things that I am in the middle of doing, I feel that I am doing good. Things like attending as many temples as I can is an ongoing item that will never stop.
Learning to take things that I want in the future and making plans to accomplish them is helping me when thinking about what I want to do professionally. I want to accomplish lots of things in my life. So, taking certain things on this list which are personal or professional and making SMART goals will help me make the goals a reality.

Doing the Stars and Steppingstones assignment really made me think about what I really want to do in life and how I want to get there. Ultimately, the most important thing in my life is to live the best of my ability like Jesus Christ. Learning to be like Him is a lifelong process and I will fail many times. That is what repentance is for. Try and try again. Things will get easier and some things will be longer to learn. I am just glad that I am reminded by certain scriptures to "trust God and lean not unto my own understanding."

I am grateful to think of what I have been able to accomplish as far as graphic design and what I have the potential to do in the future. It is exciting to me and a bit daunting. The more I learn, though, makes it less daunting. I liked the three questions at the end because it made me think of what I really wanted out of life. What is eventually the most important. (What do you want to accomplish by the end of your life? What kind of person do you want to be? and What type of relationships will be important to you?)



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