Kicking the Bucket List

My husband is always asking me what's on my bucket list. He does this because I am getting older by the minute ( as we all are but for some reason it is only noticed after a certain age) and he's worried I might kick the proverbial bucket before I have gotten to see whatever it is he imagines I've always wanted to see. To assuage him I try to dream stuff up, but really my list has nothing to do with travel to foreign lands or treks to famous places. Instead it has everything to do with achieving peace of mind, and an airport security line is the last place I expect that will happen.

Meditation cushions come in many colors. Which one gets you to nirvana?

Not long ago I attended a two-day weekend retreat led by a Buddhist teacher. He told us many stories of his quest for enlightenment and had us meditating en masse, which was all very nice but served only to disturb my peace of mind rather than enhance it. There were just too many people sitting cross-legged on their designer meditation cushions for my taste. (Available in many colors, for some reason most people had gone with the purple.) Seems to me a plain old chair works as well, is much more comfortable and is readily available no matter where you are.

So once again, today, right here in my house in Maine, in a plain old chair in the corner of my bedroom, I will seek to check off the only thing on my list. Wish me luck!