In my early school years I was informed by a well-meaning teacher that I was wasting my time daydreaming and building castles in the air, and I needed to do something more productive with my time. It wasn't until many years later that I realized there's nothing wrong with building castles in the air; that's where they should be. The trick is to build a sturdy foundation under them and transform them into reality. After all, you have to start somewhere; and for that matter, is daydreaming all that different from planning?

   We hear all the time how life is a journey not a destination and that is very true as far as it goes. The part that particular maxim leaves out is how we have to accept that when we reach for the far horizon we will never quite grasp it because the horizon is always just a little further ahead of us, and that's o.k.; it keeps the journey fresh and exciting. If we accomplish every goal we set for ourselves, what is left? Do we sit around gloating for the rest of our lives? Is that really what you want to spend your Golden Years - the only ones to really belong to you since you ran barefoot and carefree through the backyard sprinkler - doing? Me either! I want to always have at least one more thing I want to accomplish in life. I don't want to MAKE a bucket list, I want to LIVE it!
   I  leave you with a quote from the great Hunter S. Thompson (although I've seen various versions of it attributed to others) from his "Gonzo Papers", later published in book form as "Gonzo":

   "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up , totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a ride!"

   Some of the alternate versions will have you holding a glass of whiskey, a cigarette, or chocolate; whichever version you prefer, let's all get out there and mix it up a bit. I've done my level best to prove that long-ago teacher wrong, but I could use some help.
 See you peeps out there somewhere near the distant horizon!        -Lynn


     
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