Over this past weekend I ventured down to southern Utah to an area with more than 500 petroglyphs dated as far as 8,000 years ago. Wow! As my little family walked the gravel paths and found large rocks over 10 feet wide etched with what seemed to be life time lines, we were in ah. The primitive images of birds, animals, people walking, circles and circles that looked like labyrinths, it made us wonder about the people who drew the images. You wondered about their life out in the middle of nowhere, the heat, the rock ledges, the solitude, what their life was like, what they dreamed of, what they did day in and day out, what their family was like, the things they held precious…

I then thought about my own life and the legacy I will leave. Will it be a legacy of faith, goodness, light, love? Will I be remembered as someone who was a good mother, a supportive, loving wife. Will I be remembered as someone who tried things, who was brave and adventurous, or someone who didn’t risk, who stayed safe. For some reason lately I have been needing to step out of my usual, to try new things, to venture beyond my limitations, so I have been risking more, I have been trying to venture more. This year has brought discomfort with having to go to dinner parties (not my favorite past time), putting my work out where people can reject it (entered some visual work into a contest & gala–that was a couple of tough situations), but I have also tried playing more, having more adventure—hence my idea of finding indian ruins in the desert.

There is only so much life you can live if you stay within the lines, if you walk in only comfortable shoes, if you don’t go beyond and find more within yourself. So, the last couple of weeks I have been writing down things I have tried, things I have done, things I have accomplished, things I am proud of within the years of my life…small things, big things, adventurous things. Things that define who I am and the life I have led so far. It is fun to see the details, the wins, the growth, the learning. It is also fun to create new lists of things you want to do, to accomplish, to dream.

So, with that in mind, I challenge you to read other people’s life lists, bucket lists, to do’s of the year & create your own wish lists, life lists & begin one by one. Step by step, to see yourself go beyond, one little step at a time. Life is good. Life is NOW. Your legacy is written with what you do every single day. You are writing the pages of your life, so make them great!!

Good luck. Best Wishes.

Here are some Wish list ideas: Enjoy your children, Spend more quality time with those you love, Start a blog, Write every single day, Do something creative, Have an article published, Write a book, Create a business, Feed animals in the wild, Try a different sport of some kind (snowboarding, paddle boarding, skiing, fishing, hiking, canoeing, climbing), Try gardening, Take # of pictures this year, Read # of books this year, Go see the olympics, Learn a language, Stay in a tree house, Meet a celebrity and have your pic with them, Pet/feed a wild animal, Write a fan letter to someone you admire, Drive a convertible, Try something extreme like skydiving or scuba diving, List out places you would like to visit, Ride a motorcycle, Go sailing, Take a class, See a cirq show in Las Vegas, Visit # of National Parks, Ride Horseback, Go dogsledding, Attend a floating lantern celebration, Try sorbing (giant bubble ball walking on water), Send a message in a bottle, Take a dance lesson, Learn to play a musical instrument, Take # road trips, Own a hammock, Sell something, Find a good service project once a month, Make one new recipe a month, Go on # of dates with husband, Buy a city pass and do all the activities…there are so many ideas to bring to life—make them your own.

Here are some quotes I liked on the subject..enjoy!