39 Ways to Live, and Not Merely Exist

Here’s an article that Via caught at http://www.dumblittleman.com/ which she decided to forward to me.

I decided to make my own notes in each item provided by the author.

1. Love. I’m already in love with my beloved husband. But a successful 10 years doesn’t guarantee eternal bliss. There would always be “idle” moments. I plan to fall in love again. With the same person I first fell in love with. Mhark, brace yourself! ^-^

2. Get outside. Saturdays and Sundays shouldn’t be spent at home. Mhark, that should change. I plan to go to Trinoma this weekend and explore it. I want to go about Intramuros and take pictures of it. I’d also spend quality time with my nephew and niece in Almanza.

3. Savor food. I’ve always felt that eating is an obligation so I tend not to enjoy it. The article made me realize that I have been missing a lot for eating too hurriedly. I’ll start to savor the taste of the food that I will eat starting this moment. Bon appetite to me! ^-^

4. Create a morning ritual. Since I wake up really late and I am not able to catch the sunrise anymore, maybe I will settle for another morning ritual. I plan to recite the rosary every morning. What a great way to start the day! ^-^

5. Take chances. Talking about taking chances, I want to try my luck in business. I’d probably also go into becoming a part-time real property consultant. With my charm? I’d probably sell tons of properties. ^-^

6. Follow excitement. It would be exciting to try SCUBA diving. (I envy Via…) Another thing that makes me excited is becoming pregnant. 2008 is the perfect year!

7. Find your passion. I have long known my passion and that’s journalism. I need to get some workshop in journalism, though. It’s the one thing that I have always planned to do but have never found the time and opportunity to pursue.

8. Get out of your cubicle. How I miss Dessa and our daily “dog walk” at Robinson’s. I’m just so glad that I was able to bring Via out of the building to buy food. It was the first time! And hope not the last…

9. Turn off the TV. Yes, I realized how television wastes my time. I’ve already cut the time I spend on tv. The only problem? My cyber addiction. Now, that’s another item.

10. Pull away from Internet. This is my biggest guilty pleasure. I need to develop control over this latest addiction. I need to cut down the time I spend blogging and surfing to two hours per day. Will I make it?

11. Travel. Destinations? Let’s start with Vigan and Sagada. Second Stop: Bohol, Cebu and Iloilo. Third Stop: Puerto Galera. Fourth Stop: Davao, Camiguin and Cagayan de Oro all in one trip. In three year’s time, I’d go for endless trips abroad – Asian cruise, European cruise and US tour. I’d bring Mhark with me, of course.

12. Rediscover what's important. These past few years, I have focused on the “side tracks” and lost track of the main road. That is bound to change. This weekend, I will spend time to search my soul and I’ll list down the five things that I consider most important in my life.

13. Eliminate everything else. Yes, I will eliminate first my anger toward my in-law family. After all, they are also my family, whether I like it or not. But maybe, it will take time for me to restore the love I used to give them.

14. Exercise. Yup. I need to exercise to get rid of my menstrual cramps. And also to get rid of the flabs that’s building in my abs.

15. Be positive. I should learn to recognize the self-doubts, the criticisms of others, the complaints and the reasons why I can't do something. Then, I should stop myself from dwelling too much on these thoughts. I must replace them with positive thoughts at once!

16. Open your heart. Heartaches from the past have made my heart become more careful about showing how I feel. It’s time to open again my heart to loving others unconditionally, without the paranoia that I am being used or something.

17. Kiss in the rain. The last time I got crazy in the rain with Mhark was more than 9 years ago. Can you imagine? I want to be crazy again. And since it’s the rainy season, watch out, Mhark for surprises that are bound to come your way.

18. Face your fears. My biggest fear? To feel a snake’s skin! To face that fear, I will go to Avalon Zoo and hold a snake in my arm. It’s safe because I heard the snakes there are not venomous.

19. When you suffer, suffer. Yes, I had been to this state lately. A lot of things to grief for have crossed my path. Good thing I have my family and friends who aided me through the ordeal. Thanks, guys! What I realized after suffering a great deal is that I became wiser and stronger!

20. Slow down. These past few days, I’ve always been on the run. I eat my brunch while on my way to work. It’s like I’m running and running but no one was running after me. Hahaha! It’s time to slow down. Savor the moments…

21. Touch humanity. I have enrolled myself to a charity group headed by Bo Sanchez and have pledged to send a small amount every month but I haven’t started giving yet. It’s been 6 months now and I haven’t given any amount yet. I felt so guilty. I’ll start sending my monthly pledge on Monday. That’s a promise!

22. Volunteer. I also plan to make time to spend a day of my week doing volunteer works for that charity. I still have to establish my contact, though. I hope to start it before July ends.

23. Play with children. I love to play with children. But it has been three years since I had played with the children. I left them in my hometown, Naga. Now that I have my nephew and niece to look after, I can go back to my favorite pastime: playing with kids!

24. Talk to old people. I have missed talking to my dad. Eversince stroke got him, I lost a teacher. I have to look for another elder whom I can have an intelligent talk with. I think I just found one – my Auntie Eliz! I will suggest a monthly date with her. I hope she agrees.

25. Learn new skills. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. It’s never too late to learn a new trick, right? But first, I need to buy a guitar!

26. Find spirituality. I have found it when I got depressed due to my feud with my in law family. Although it has always been in me, I realized that being busy with a lot of things stagnate my spirituality.

27. Take mini-retirements. Yes! Travel… travel… travel! World, prepare for our invasion!

28. Do nothing. This, I guess, is the hardest of all. I can’t imagine myself being silent for a long time, unless I’m asleep. It’s weird because many complain that I talk even in my sleep! Hahaha!

29. Stop playing video games. I play video games only when I’m with my nephew, Vince. It’s fun to play once in a while. What I think I should also cut is oversleeping. I have to wake up and work for my dreams! ^-^

30. Watch sunsets, daily. Sunsets. I always miss it because it is the time that I get so engrossed with work. Maybe I will find time on weekends.

31. Stop reading magazines. Can you believe that I read magazines online? I haven’t touched a real magazine for a long time now. Subscribing to a magazine might be a good idea.

32. Break out from ruts. This has always worked for me. I try not to be predictable. I love to try a new approach everyday.

33. Stop watching the news. I rarely watch the news these days and I realize it didn’t matter if I didn’t know the full detail of the earthquake that hit China a few months ago. It didn’t make me less of a person.

34. Laugh till you cry. I have missed laughing hard. It’s difficult because I only laugh hard in front of people whom I am so comfortable with. Being in an environment where I don’t have a lot of time to spend with the people I have gone comfortable with, it’s really hard to get a dose of a healthy laugh regularly.

35. Lose control. I am guilty of trying to be always in control. I’m always in control of myself and I even have this bad habit of controlling others. I will try not to have too much control on the things around me and let’s see if I remain sane.

36. Cry. I love to cry. It’s my way of cleansing.

37. Make an awesome dessert. I love to make desserts for Mhark. Especially when I see that he’s been into a lot of stress. His favorite is mango float. I’m making one this weekend! ^-^

38. Try something new, every week. I promise to try a new dish every week. I’ll finally use the cookbook you bought for me, Mahal.

39. Be in the moment. I have always been a worrier. I worry about the past. I worry about the future. By worrying too much, I actually miss the present. This, too, shall change.