As I write this there are several guys trampling back and forth over my head hammering in a new roof. One of the things I didn’t know you had to do to prepare your premises for this undertaking is to get everything off the walls because…see above…there will be several guys trampling back and forth all day!

(You’ll get a feel for your level of accumulation if you ever have to do this exercise, by the way.)

In the course of pulling down paintings and antiques from over 30 years in the same house, I began to realize I had more art than floor. Looking for a safe place to lean the paintings out of paw/foot-traffic range, I stood for about three seconds in front of the television in the living room seeing the perfect spot if I didn’t care if I couldn’t use the babble box for a couple of days.

Somewhere under the stuff we love is an electronic device we bought once.

That’s all the time it took for me to realize that not only were we unlikely to miss this object in the next couple of days, we had hardly used it in the past week. And then I decided it didn’t matter whether it was accessible or not.

I just received a newsletter that says it perfectly:

When asked how she managed to be so prolific, (noted author, teacher, and designer) Barbara Walker said she needed only four or five hours of sleep each night. She also said that her TV set broke once and she didn’t get around to calling the repair man for five years. “I got a lot done,” she smiled.

http://tinyurl.com/mrhm8j

So, before you ask me what you should do, first ask yourself what are you doing right now that doesn’t matter.

In the middle of the shady forest..... the moon.

“Mike, get on with it!”

The source of the reminder was a couple of phone calls. One on Saturday informed me that the husband of a new distributor in my organization had just dropped dead at the age of 53.

This morning I received a phone call from another friend confirming attendance at a major event this coming weekend and, by the way, he spent the weekend in the hospital due to a heart attack. He is 43.

OK. Got it. Message received, loud and clear:

“You don’t know how much time is left so you better get on with the ‘bucket list’ RIGHT NOW.”

But on a deeper level the message is to get on with the simple, essential, often less obvious, “A” list things as well. Here’s a short list to self:

• Call someone and tell them you love them. One of you may not be here tomorrow.
• Get on with the healing. Practice forgiveness NOW! (That includes forgiving yourself.)
• Is there something important you want to leave behind? Some work, project, message? Do it now.
• Let go of those time wasting activities that distract you. (Overused phrase, but true: “don’t major in minors.”)
• Recognize attachments that are holding you back, slowing you down, limiting your vision. Release them; they do not serve you.
• Examine your thinking. Would you be content with what is on your mind right now as your last thought? It just could be.
• Examine your actions. Ditto above.
• Consider your goals. Do they represent what really matters to you? Would it fit into your epitaph or the eulogy at your funeral?

Note To Reader: What would be on YOUR list?