I think my friend Sharon (or her husband John) sent this to me at the beginning of the year. It eventually got buried on my hard-drive. I stumbled on to it yesterday while using “spotlight” to find something else. I know we are mid-2008, but what better time to refresh those “new years resolutions” than now. (enjoy, think, act…)

50 Ways to Improve Your Life in 2008

1. Help a neighbor for no reason.
2. Fast for a day and give away the food money.
3. Write a letter of gratitude to an old mentor.
4. Keep a notebook of dreams. (“An unexamined dream is like an unopened letter from God”–Elie Wiesel)
5. Add a new charity to your list.
6. Rent Chariots of Fire.
7. Confront the biggest of the seven deadly sins. (Gluttony? Lust? Sloth? Envy? Anger? Greed? Pride? Your choice.)
8. Have tea at Alektor Café. (1807 Grand Avenue, Nashville, TN)
9. Read a fair, informative book on Iran.
10. And on Pakistan.
11. Volunteer.
12. Memorize the Ten Commandments.
13. Play music you used to dance to. (Try Steve Earle’s song, “The Revolution Starts Now.”)
14. Visit a retreat center
15. Know all the books of the Bible.
16. Go hear live bluegrass.
17. Learn a poem by heart.
18. Write one.
19. Forgive an enemy (and a friend).
20. Study Martin Luther King’s speeches and achievements (this was on U.S. News’ list).
21. Help rebuild the gulf coast.
22. Light a candle.
23. Learn Buddhism’s Eightfold Path and Four Noble Truths.
24. “Do not avoid the eyes of the homeless.” (writer Michael Ventura)
25. Say grace.
26. Write down your reasons for believing.
27. Walk a labyrinth.
28. “Don’t believe the hype.” (Public Enemy)
29. Engage the war (protest it, or conserve gasoline, send useful items to the troops.)
30. Find a peaceful window view.
31. Avoid e-mail on the Sabbath.
32. Sit still for 74 minutes and listen to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
33. Attend worship of an unfamiliar faith.
34. Visit a prisoner.
35. Revisit Job and Ecclesiastes.
36. Identify a secret fear, then let it go.
37. Visit a church with lots of stained glass.
38. Read Dante’s Divine Comedy.
39. Study a map of the Mideast and south Asia.
40. Observe Speak No Evil day (May 14). (That day is past, so pick one…preferably a Monday!)
41. Be accountable to somebody.
42. Check this local Web site: coolpeoplecare.org.
43. Learn the constellations and motions of the cosmos.
44. Attend a contemporary art exhibit.
45. “Simplify, simplify.:” (Thoreau)
46. Be conscious of where the food comes from.
47. Learn the difference between Church of Christ and United Church of Christ.
48. Remember this statistic: 30,000 children die everyday from poverty or malnutrition.
49. Lay this list aside and stir up your own.
50. To quote Wendell Berry: “Practice resurrection.”