一生应做的二十件事 Twenty Things You Should Do in This Lifetime

When I was a young girl, my grandmother always asked me the question,"What is it you want?"

I'd give the age-appropriate answer whether it was "candy" at age five,"a bicycle" at age twelve,or ,

"not nswering dumb questions" when I was fifteen. She always listened carefully,and then asked,"What

is it you really want?" I hated when she did that because it made me think-and thinking was painful.

Invariably what I really wanted was different than what I'd originally asked for. Her final question was

always the same. "what price are you willing to pay,in order to ger that?"

When I was sixteen, she increased the complexity of the task. She asked, "What are twenty things

you should do in this lifetime?" Each year , on Thanksgiving, she made me rewrite the list adjusting it

as my maturity and wisdom grew.For twenty-eight years, I gave her my list before Iate her turkey

dinner.I was never able to give her the twenty-nine.She died two days before Thanksgiving.

However, I think she would have been proud of how she'd helped me grow,from the five-year-old who

just wanted candy to this end result of twenty-nine years of refinement:

1 To leave the world a bit better by my having been here.

2 To love unconditionally

3 To dream big dreams and be willing to pay the price to make them come true.

4 To visit the lincoln Memorial at dawn

5 To earn the affection of children

6 To hike and rafe the Grand Canyon

7 To find out what I'm good at , and give it back to the world

8 To watch a sunset on a tropical isle

9 To earn the respect of intelligent people

10 To learn my family history and visit the homeland

11 To drive and bike across the country

12 To help a stranger in need

13 To make something that is still standing when I die

14 To play a game for more than I can afford to lose

15 To meditate and pray daily

16 To do something others said was impossible

17 To walk beaches under a full moon at midnight

18 To take a stand on something and not back down under pressure

19 To never lose childlike enthusiasm

20 To swim naked under waterfalls