Things to do now you're 40

Picked up a book titled "Things to do now tthat you're 40". Though more than a deccade too late, I was kind of curious what I have missed out and see whether I can do a bit of catch up. The book is not in prose form and really just lists out suggestions under 8 broad headings.

Leaving out the crazy, weird and sometimes irresponsible activities like "Do something scandalous that will shock your descendants" or "Play roulette in a casino and lose more money than you can afford" in the list, I find some of the suggestions rather interesting, doable and worthy of consideration. Under the various headings they include:

Challenge Yourself:

• Adopt an unusual, unexpected hobby; the more bizarre the better
• Put a message in a bottle and throw it out to sea
• Have a drink in a bar alone and chat with the bartender (hmm... so challenging ,wonder when I wll pluck up enough courage to do this)

Enrich your Body and Mind

• Make a conscious decision not to become a middle-aged slob. Even when you're not going anywhere, dress nicely and groom yourself. (Gosh ! I havent bought a lipstick for ages)
• Figure out the foods that make your digestive system work most efficiently
• Get up early enough to have a calm start to the day and include something nurturing in your morning routine

Go Back to Nature

• Strike up a relationship with an animal and make sure you understand each other ( I and Miao2 are still happily trying to understand each other)
• Watch a sunset from a cliff looking out over an ocean (Just did that at Uluwata temple in Bali, a beautiful experience indeed!)
• Plant a tree in your backyard and watch it grow (my husband's source of enrichment which I must learn)
• Find the landscape that speaks to your soul, whether it be mountain or ocean, desert or forest
• Take a moment to count all the different shades of green outside

(Indeed the list is very long under this category especially if one has the luxury of living close to nature)

Review your achievement

• Think about what you used to want to do when you were growing up. Have you done it yet?
• Get something you've written in print. If all else fsils, write a letter to your local newspaper.
• Reread your resume. Sit back and feel pround of your achievement
• Nurture your intellectual curiosity. When you don't know something, look it up.
• Make one major life change in your fortieth year.

Celebrate your Creativity

• Start writing your thoughts, observations and feelings in a diary (got to do more of this)
• Develop your own eccentricities while you're young, so that as you get older people don't think you'r going gaga (hmm... it's a bit late for me, people will start using the 's' word (senile) if I begin now)
• Read all the Pulitzer Prize winning novels of the last ten years (wow with my slow reading pace that will be my retirement job)
• Stretch your brain cells, read difficult books and watch documentaries about complex subjects
• Take singing lessons, even if you're tone deaf. Singing is good for the soul ( can seriously consider!!!)
• Use your best china every day-don't wait for the perfect moments that never arrive
• Design and create a garden of your own (and get your husband the gardener to do the rest)

Upgrade your Attitude

• Get over sibling rivalry, or friendship rivalry, or any other kind of unhealthy competitiveness
• Be sure you have a healthy way of dealing with stressful situations, whether it's exercise, deep breathing, meditation or hugging a pet
• Spend your time the way you want to-   it is the hard currency of life. Don't let other people spend it for you

Refresh you Soul

• Remember, only quiet waters give an undistorted reflection and only quiet minds see the world as it really is.
• Give yourself permission to change your mind about everything

Re-evaluate your Relationships

• Learn how to listen well and to hear what is not being said

but at the same time...

• Separate from your family enough to become yourself

I have left out loads of suggestions in the book which are very cliche in nature and too often mentioned. Most of the items listed above are not impossible to carry out although some of them call for a bit of imagination, courage or madness on our part. As Robin Williams once said " You're only given a little spark of madness. You musn't lose it."