What's on your bucket list?

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Whether or not to post my bucket list – the list of things I want to do before I kick the proverbial bucket....is something I’ve been ruminating over for some while now. On the one hand, my list is a source of inspiration and action – once things are on the list I do actually start working towards those goals that I see as most achievable (e.g. my recentish visit to Marrakech and obsession with yoga), but the list is also a trigger of stress at times. I look at all the items and feel a bit overwhelmed. What if I don’t do them? What about the goals that would widely regarded by others as unrealistic? What if people think my desires are petty? What if I become one of those annoying types who are always on about how they want to ‘live a life full of passion’ but are so busy ticking items on their list that they don’t have the time to stop for a breather and enjoy it. And I think we’ve all known someone like that, Mr/Ms 'I've done Asia.now I’m going to do bla...'... Er, spending 6 months backpacking round a continent getting high is not necessarily doing it - I think it’s the verb do that gets me...meeeooow, I'll put my claws back and take a chill pill now.

Still, for slightly unfocussed types like me, I still think the benefits of writing it all down outweigh any disadvantages. Without it I could easily end up on my sofa watching Sex and the City reruns for the rest of my life! Or at least that’s what I tell myself. And as for sharing it, well I guess that’s what having a blog is all about. Bucket list is also perhaps not the best name for my the odd mix of must-see sites and random aspirations I'm posting here.

Do I have any bucket list tips? Just one. Although you can’t really include them on the list, do congratulate yourself on the things you ‘did’ without even realising they could be life goals – in my case I’d definitely include living abroad, seeing Michael Jackson in concert and standing (well, sailing) at the point where the blue and white Niles meet in Khartoum before coursing north to Egypt. In fact I have a whole pre-bucket list that serves as a great pat on the back on down days :-)

So, here it is – the good, the bad and the materialistic - bucket list:

Places:

1. Go to Japan.

2. Go to India.

3. Go to Bali – (ok, I cheated, this was never a life-dream for me, but as I’m going this summer I pretty much have to include it!)

4. Do a yoga retreat – ditto Bali :-)

5. Go to China.

6. Spend the night in the desert (this is a huge one for me).

7. Visit old Dongola and Meroe in Sudan (where my dad’s family came from).

8. Visit the USA.

9. Go on a safari.

10. Go to the sacred music festival in Fez.

11. Go to the Womad (world music) festival in Caceres.

12. Visit Lebanon.

13. Go to the (alleged) source of the Nile (Lake Victoria)

14. Visit Thailand and eat Thai street food.

15. Visit all 7 continents.

16. Travel across Russia, Mongolia and China on the Trans-Siberian Express.

Experiences:

17. See Madame butterfly at the opera.

18. Go diving.

19. Climb an active volcano.

Stuff to learn:

20. Learn to make Pastilla (a type of Moroccan savoury-sweet pastry).

21. Get good at yoga.

22. Be able to do push ups (It’s ridiculous, I can’t even do one).

23. Learn to hold a tune.

24. Learn to make sushi.

25. Learn to meditate.

26. Learn to take great photos.

27. Learn French.

28. Do an illustration course.

29. Improve my Arabic.

Family:

30. Host Christmas for my family.

31. Meet ‘the one’, if such a thing exists, and have lovely kid(s).

32. Write down my Sudanese family’s history.

33. Be more openly loving towards my family.

Career:

34. Run my own business that pays me (erm, undisclosed amount) per year.

35. Be a designer of something.

36. Write and publish a book. A proper book. 

Health and beauty:

37. Have perfectly healthy kidneys. This probably isn’t achievable, but by having it on the list it helps me remember to stay as healthy and fit as possible.

38. Have some cool photos taken of me (yes, I’m vain)

39. Spend a weekend in the Cuadalie, Marques de Riscal spa in Álava.

40. Get laser depilation (sorry to mention this here male audience).

Character:

41. Be more proactive.

42. Be more focused. This is a hard one for me.

43. Be more assertive.
44. Have more self-belief.

44. Become a better spoken communicator.

45. Feel happy behind the wheel.

Material

46. Live in my dream house, a penthouse in Alonso Martínez.

47. I freely admit here that I wouldn’t mind a vintage gold Rolex. Bling

48. Be a minimalist

If you’re lacking in ideas but feel the urge to create/expand your list, here are a few (525 to be exact) ideas from a blog I sometimes refer to for inspiration (why you'd have meeting Donal Trump on your list I can't quite imagine, but I'm sure the author would feel the same about my inclusion of laser depilation!)

If any of you have lists and would like to share I’d be delighted to see them :-)