That Other List

I often refer to taking line items off of our "to-do lists" to open up more space in our lives for things that serve and support our own personal evolution. In a conversation the other day with a dear, long-time friend, she made reference to her "joy list". "Joy list"? I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. Hence, this conversation has led me to my thought for the week...creating a "joy list".

If you're anything like me, there's an on-going tug of war between the need to complete a "to-do list" and the all I want to do "joy list". Why is it that so often I feel that I can sneak a peak at the "joy list" only after the "to-do list" has all of its items crossed off? Is the "to-do list" that much more important than the "joy list"?

I wonder if it's just a further expression of how we are raised. You get dessert after you finish ALL of your vegetables. You can't watch TV until your homework is complete. Do your piano scales before launching into Beethoven's Fifth. Do the drills on the tennis court before you can play a match. Warm up before going for an all out sprint. Clean your room before your friend can come over for a play date...and on it goes.

Many of these steps are important to preparing us for a better outcome. Without a warm up the sprint could result in a pulled hamstring. Without doing our scales, the fingers might not be as fluid. And we all more or less agree that education trumps TV. But what about when we reach adulthood and our time is more our own? We all have responsibilities and creating a list of priorities can be rather time efficient.

I know that if I give my husband a "honey-do list", it spreads the load and eases my burden. I truly feel we're in partnership when I come home and all that other stuff has been taken care of - yea team! But this weeks thought is more of how we so easily give more credence to the "to-do list" than to the things that bring us joy. Isn't experiencing joy as important as getting the mundane accomplished? In fact, isn't it more important?

I have written about the Purusharthas before, that is, the purpose of our soul. They are dharma (our purpose), artha (tools needed), kama (inherent joy) and moksha (freedom). This deep philosophical inquiry even states that kama (joy) is vital to living our life's purpose, not "honey, did you take the garbage out?".

Another perspective is to find the joy in the mundane. We can do this simply by being fully present with whatever it is that we're doing. A mindfulness approach to our daily activities puts us into the experience of "now", rather than taking us into the projected daydream state of what else we could be doing.

My question is to look at what brings you that uplifted feeling on a regular basis? It could be the simplest of pleasures such as walking barefoot on the earth, feeling the sun on your skin, having a conversation with a friend or doing something for someone else. If you're keen to explore this more deeply, write down three things that bring you joy each and every day. And begin to be more present with what is.

Put that at the top of your "to-do list" and see what unfolds.