Carpe bucket

I embarked upon something of a spiritual journey some years ago. As time has passed, I've stumbled upon a greater awareness of the meaning of life, the universe and everything. My findings have been shared on this very blog. I've also been working on the ultimate playlist. With all these factors in mind, it seems a fitting time to create my Bucket List. Drum roll maestro please......

• Go to Cornwall with my daughter. Fairly achievable. It just involves money, time and intention. I have two of these already. Create a connection in Cornwall which enables us to travel there frequently and inexpensively. Not so achievable.
• To sing in a public arena, and by public arena, I do NOT mean The X-Factor or karaoke. Im thinking of something with acoustic guitars and tambourines. I've done a little of this in times gone by. Albeit in a semi-hiding-in-the-corner capacity. It's time to get brave.
• Learn to play the guitar. Just a little bit. I'm not a wannabe Clapton but I certainly won't dismiss the possibility of achieving this outright. Ideally, and this is a bucket list, so let's stick with ideals, I'd like someone with patience to teach me for free. Preferably someone who is really hot, has a beard and long hair. 
• Do more to help the homeless, refugees and victims of domestic abuse. I'm not suggesting that my charitable efforts should be limited to these areas but each of these are of particular importance to me.
• To study at post-graduate level. I might need to wait until my daughter is a lot older before I'm able to. Unless my employer begins a PhD programme of some sort. Here's hoping. 
• To write for a sort of living. I've made a little money in the past from writing freelance. I've also written blogs, media releases and the like in a properly paid career type job! More writing for pennies is needed!
• Compile my vast array of comedy parenting moments into a book of some sort.  
• Be here now. In other words, practice mindfulness. I want this to be my natural go to mode, rather than reverting to daydreaming or over-thinking.
• Go back to Ludschurch and re-embrace it's energy. It's a truly magical place. I feel much more in tune with myself now.  The interaction of place and self should be intense.
• In keeping with the above intention, I want to visit as many magical places as possible - the legends of Arthur, ancient burial sites, Stonehenge under cover of darkness, sites associated with The Knights Templar……I can feel another list coming on.
• Buy a record player! Have records. Need more. Can't play them.
• Visit Florence. I desperately wanted to travel there when I was in Venice but it didn't happen.
• Spend a whole weekend, or maybe just one day lost in an art gallery. Not physically lost. I can read signs. Emotionally lost. I used to lose myself to art quite regularly so arguably it's an unworthy candidate for the Bucket List. However, the actual loss of time in a gallery seems a remote memory now. It's almost another me. It's not an easy win for a single, working parent when childcare is very limited.
• Improve my poetry by absorbing many great poets. My aim is also to read more poetry for it's own beauty, not only as fodder for my creativity. That would be reductive and kinda yucky. Operation Poetry has already stepped up a gear. Im reading The Comedy of Errors (not a poem but it still counts) and a selection of poems by John Donne. 
• Finish the ultimate playlist and download every track onto an actual playlist.
• Meditate within a stone circle. Yep. That's on the list. Don't mock the hippy.
• Support and encourage my daughter to create all her dreams and ambitions. I'd like to do much the same for my niece, nephew and my daughter's half brother.
• Read every book written by Pratchett at least twice. I've read a hefty number of them once. The second journey through Pratchett's imagination needs to be in chronological order. It should not be Mort before The Light Fantastic, for example.
• Finish JRR Tolkien's Unfinished Tales. Oh the irony.
• Commence the ultimate romance with my soulmate / metaphorical unicorn / twin flame. A tricky addition because it implies that I have some power over this. It's not like I can buy myself a ticket to Perfect Boyfriend Land. I can probably go to the places that these men frequent. Where exactly is that again? What do you mean it's Narnia? Can’t be. That's a mythical place from a children's story. Oh wait. Damn. I'm still leaving it on. I'm not that jaded. 
• Visit Molly Leigh's grave. It sounds rather morbid but it truly isn't. She was reputed to be a witch and I'm sure I remember someone saying that she is distantly related on my dad's side.
• Finish all my creative projects, including the half painted mirror resting against the wall.
• Reach a level of ink coverage, where I deem myself artistically complete. Probably unachievable because inking is much like Pringles.
• Watch the Northern Lights. Happy to do this from anywhere really but Norway would be rather lovely.
• Collaborate on a creative project with a romantic partner. I attempted this with an ex. It was more collabor-nibble than collabor-ate with him. Therefore it was a bit shit. The creative project in question needs to be balanced between the protagonists and profoundly compelling. It does rather hinge on the soulmate thing so erm possibly unachievable.
• Singapore.  Basically, go there and do stuff. I've been to their airport and that was pretty emotional so I can only begin to imagine the majesty of Singapore itself.

There is another Bucket List rolling around the ether somewhere. It might even be on this very blog. It matters not. This is the list I'm working to. I acknowledge the lack of: swim with dolphins, space travel, bungee jump and so forth. Dolphins are lovely from a safe-non-submerged-in-water distance. Unless some dolphin or other has ‘swim with Hazel’ on it's Bucket List, it feels rather wrong to have them on mine. Moreover, they might be busy leaving and thanking us for all the fish. As Bill Bailey has accurately noted, space travel is rather tricky without years of training. I'd certainly enjoy seeing earth from space but it's not really feasible unless we count the views on Google Earth. Bungee jumping might bring on the methophical bucket, so no, it's not for me. I believe that a Bucket List should be roughly achievable, not terrifying and not likely to increase the likelihood of a sticky end. Significantly, it should also be spiritually, emotionally and / or intellectually expansive.

I might add to this list. Time will tell. However, what I really want to do is achieve as much as I can before I depart this mortal coil. Who knows how long we each have. Carpe diem! Carpe bucket!

Xxxx