Here we are - little specks of self-importance, sometimes earnest and kind, to’ing and fro’ing through our days, and busying ourselves with to do lists. When I remember, I step back and try to take the longer view like an alien looking at Earth from deep space. But that can be overwhelming so back to my “to do’s.”
Of all the lists I’ve compiled, I never tackled the so-called “bucket list” — the things I imagined doing in my life that have fallen by the wayside. But Garnet Frost did and wrote a beautiful poem about them. He was the subject of a documentary I recently watched, Garnet’s Gold. The “gold” is supposedly in a buried treasure chest the French intended for Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 1700s.
Garnet’s search took him to the Scottish Highlands from his home in England. But as with many travels, his became a journey of introspection and memory, and at the end of the film he shares the poetic list of things he’s “nearly done” in his life. He nearly crossed the desert on a camel, nearly practiced guitar for hours, nearly was an honest man.
So what would be on my nearly done list - making a quilt, escaping in a hot air balloon, and swimming in the wild alongside a dolphin. But even more than those things, I want to stop spending so much time making lists and make more time for stepping out of my self-absorbed bubble to engage more with the panoramic view.
I’m Paula Garrett and it’s all a matter of perspective.
