what i want...inspired by Meg

Meg (More to Me) wrote an incredibly liberating and inspiring post recently on discovering and accepting those things that we WANT for ourselves. Indeed, it can be so utterly difficult to decipher what it is we want for ourselves from what we want for others or what others want for us. We become timid in our asking, we shrink behind the person beside us, we go through the motions saying “sure, that’s what I want” when perhaps that is simply what the person beside us wants. And so, I believe it is important for each one of us to truly think about this…to think about what we want for ourselves and to have the courage to speak that truth, to bellow it from the mountaintops, to roar with courage (or that cackling laugh, Meg) and proclaim “I WANT…”. It is important that we each become aware of what we want for ourselves and then proceed on our journeys to make these wants, these dreams, come true.

I WANT…
freedom…to sing with abandon and passion…to dance like no one is watching…to paint…to draw…to write…to let go of guilt…to forgive myself and to forgive others…to greet the world with smiles each day….to make a difference…to inspire others…to find positive in every moment…to climb mountains…to read millions of books…to write a book…to find inner peace…to become okay with silence…to travel the world…to hold orphans in my lap and show them a love they have never known…to capture the beauty of the world in pictures…to become a more organized and tidy person…to push past my fears of rejection and criticism…to find my May Sarton book that is somewhere within my apartment…to plant a garden…to learn to cook…to become a doctor…to read all of Anais Nin’s journals…to let go of anger…to become closer to God…to stop and smell the roses (or tulips or daffodils or whatever kind of flowers happen to be there)…to foster my friendships…to learn to enjoy exercise…to be okay without perfectionism…to live…to laugh…to love…

There is so much more I could write here…but this is a list that shall continue to grow, to expand. Above all, I want to experience life and deeply and authentically and beautifully as I possibly can. I want to wake up each morning and be grateful for one more day on this earth. And when I take my last breath, I want to know that I have lived a fulfilling life.