My “Life List”

Experiences, or possessions? For most people, unless they’re rich, it’s an either/or situation.

“The latest psychological research suggests that, in the long run, experiences make us happier than possessions. That’s because the initial joy of acquiring a new object, such as a new car, fades over time. Experiences, on the other hand, continue to provide happiness through memories long after the event occurred.” – CNN

Here’s my current list. The order of priority keeps changing.

  1. Hike the Santiago de Campostela pilgrimage trail, in Spain.
  2. Explore the rest of Australia, especially the north and west. 3-6 months.
  3. Africa trek: Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar – 3-6 months. While there, take a hot air balloon trip over the Serengeti and a white-water raft trip down the Zambezi. See a lemur, and a leopard.
  4. Explore Tahiti. Spend a night in an over-water hut.
  5. Explore the rest of France – especially the wine districts – 1 month.
  6. See the rest of Alaska – 2-3 months.
  7. Go hang gliding somewhere spectacular – 1 day
  8. Explore the rest of the Caribbean – 3-6 months
  9. Study yoga in an ashram, and meditation in a monastery. Do a vipassana, and a vision quest.
  10. See as much of the world as I can – especially the parts I’ve missed. Sing more. Dance more. Camp more.

The Full List: 

See the wonders of the world:

  1. Petra (Jordan)
  2. Christ the Redeemer (Rio)
  3. Catacombs of Kom el Shoquafa (Alexandria)
  4. Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
  5. Clay Army of Xian
  6. Cluny Abbey (France)
  7. Mont Saint Michel (Fr)
  8. Chartres (Fr)
  9. Sagrada Familia (Sp)
  10. Itaipu Dam (Brazil)
  11. Panama Canal
  12. Potala Palace (Tibet)
  13. Polar Ice Caps
  14. Serengeti
  15. Paricutin Volcano (Michoacan)
  16. The Golden Temple (Amritsar, India)
  17. Kiyomizu-dera (Kyoto)
  18. Moai (Easter Island)
  19. Red Square (Rus)
  20. Uluru (Aus)
  21. Timbuktu (Mali)

  22. Pyramids, Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, The Great Wall, Machu Picchu, The Colosseum, Tiananman Square, Forbidden City, Zuiderzee Works (Hol) Statue of Liberty, Sydney Opera House, Notre Dame, Chichen Itza (Mex), Channel Tunnel, Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, Hoover Dam, Acropolis, Hagia Sofia (Tur), Leaning Tower of Pisa, Old City Jerusalem, Venice, Citadel of Cairo, Ely Cathedral (UK), St. Peter’s (Vat), St. Paul’s (UK), Alhambra, Angkor Wat, Eiffel Tower, Masai Mara, Mt. Everest, Aurora Borealis

     

Photograph the world’s great waterfalls
  1. Iguacu (Brazil)
  2. Angel Falls (Venezuela)
  3. Victoria Falls (Zambia), Yosemite, Niagara

Explore the World’s Most Spectacular National Parks

  • Fuji (Japan)
  • Guilin (China)
  • Serengeti (Tanz)
  • Torres del Paine (Chile)
  • Swiss National (Sw)
  • Fiordland (NZ)
  • Manual Antonio (CR)
  • Etosha (Namibia)
  • Okavango (Botswana)
  • Kakadu (Aus)
  • Tikal (Guat)
  • Kaieteur (Guyana)
  • Iguazu (Braz)
  • Canaima (Ven)
  • Ngorogoro (Tans)
  • Sagarmantha (Nep)
  • Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, Glacier, Crater Lake, Zion, Arches, Bryce, Great Smokies, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Olympic, Chobe (Bots), Jasper (Can), Corcavado (CR), Galapagos (Eq), Great Barrier Reef (Aus), Frasier Island (Aus), Kruger (S.A.), Machu Picchu (Peru), Banff (Can), Masai Mara (Kenya), Lake District (UK)

Activities

  1. Hang Gliding
  2. Paddleboarding   (done 6/12/12)
  3. Hot Air Ballooning
  4. Bouldering
  5. Spelunking
  6. Ride in a blimp
  7. Learn the constellations
  8. Climb a really tall tree
  9. Become a certified sommelier
  10. Paintball
  11. Drive a sports car on Germany’s autobahn.
  12. Big motorcycle trip
  13. Ride in a seaplane
  14. Big bicycle trip
  15. Take a camper-van across Australia
  16. Take dance lessons in Brazil
  17. Go backpacking in the desert
  18. Complete the Santiago de Campostela pilgrimage
  19. Complete the Mount Kailash pilgrimage
  20. Complete the John Muir Trail
  21. Complete the Pacific Crest Trail
  22. See a bullfight
  23. Horseback ride a long beach
  24. Try fire-walking
  25. Write a book
  26. Write a song
  27. Octoberfest
  28. Zip Line
  29. See Cirque de Soliel
  30. Attend a full moon party on a Thai island
  31. Mardi Gras
  32. Carnivale
  33. Burning Man
  34. See in the wild:
    1. leopard, jaguar, tiger, polar bear, gorilla, boa constrictor, anaconda, pirana, wolf
    2. lion, grizzly bear, elephant, rhino, hippo, crocodile, king cobra, rattlesnake, hyena, bison, moose, elk , cheetah,
  35. Ride the Trans-Siberian Railroad
  36. Spend the night in an over-water bungalow, Tahiti.
  37. Save someone’s life
  38. Live in the desert for a season
  39. Live in the mountains for a season
  40. Live in Italy for a season
  41. Live on a houseboat for a season
  42. Stay on houseboat in Kashmir
  43. Explore the world’s best wine regions:
    1. France
    2. Spain
    3. Portugal
    4. Argentina
    5. Chile
    6. Australia
    7. South Africa
    8. California, New Zealand, Italy
  44. See the world’s best art museums:
    1. The Hermitage (Rus)
    2. See “The Last Supper” in Milan
    3. Louvre, D’Orsay, Pompidou, Guggenheim, Prado, Met, MOMA, Tate, British, Uffizi, Vatican, Getty,  National (DC), Institute (Chi), Rijk’s
  45. Visit the world’s most beautiful gardens:
    1. Kirstenbosch, Capetown
    2. Huntington, LA
    3. Nong Nooch, Thailand
    4. Yu Yuan, China
    5. Cosmic Speculation, Scotland
    6. Keukenhof, Netherlands
    7. Exbury, UK
    8. Ryoanji, Japan
    9. Heligan, UK
    10. Butchart (Can), Versailles (Fr), Boboli (Italy), Mirabell (Austria)
  46. Go snowmobiling, learn to ski, snow boarding, see New England’s fall leaves, ride in a glider, do a walking safari, ride on top of a train, try skydiving, bungee jumping, climbing, play in quicksand, cliff jump into water, climb a mountain, walk the Via Dolorosa, work on a kibbutz, gallup on a horse, zorbing, get lost in a maze, hitchhike across America and back, drive across the USA and back, see a molten river of lava, ride in a helicopter, take a cruise, dine at one of the best restaurants in the world, ride in a private jet, ride in a limo, go backpacking in the mountains, learn to fly fish, go on an African safari, ride a camel, ride an elephant, drink kava with Pacific Islanders, golf St. Andrews, golf Pebble Beach, circumnavigate the globe, milk a cow, live in Hawaii for at least a year, live in a foreign country for a season, live in Manhattan for a season, batting cage
Water Activities
  1. Explore Underwater:
    1. Submerge in a submarine
    2. Try Spear-fishing
    3. Swim with whales, whale sharks, manatees, sharks, dolphins, turtles, rays, octopus, squid
    4. Dive or snorkel: Great Barrier Reef, Great Belize Reef, Caribbean, Red Sea, Fiji, Hawaii, Indian Ocean, Mexico, California
    5. Do a night dive, dive a ship wreck, get swept away in a rip tide, float in the Dead Sea, 
  2. Experience the world’s best scuba diving:
    1. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
    2. Surin Islands, Thailand
    3. The Red Sea
    4. Truk lagoon
    5. Palau
    6. Bahamas
    7. Turks and Caicos
    8. Similan Islands, (Thailand), Hawaii, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Roatan, Blue Hole, (Belize)
  3. Boating:
    1. Ride a dhow
    2. Kayak the Everglades
    3. Kayak the Sea of Cortez
    4. Kayak a whitewater river
    5. Deep sea fishing
    6. River trips:
      1. Nile, The Amazon, The Congo, Cataract Canyon, Danube or Rhine, Zambezi, Mississippi/Missouri, Ganges
      2. The Colorado (Grand Canyon), Mekong (Laos) 
    7. Sail in the world’s best sailing destinations:
      1. Bahamas, Virgin Islands, San Juans, Seychelles, Greece, Sea of Cortez, Polynesia, Thailand
      2. Bay of Islands (NZ), Whitsundays (Aus), Turkey, Chesapeake Bay, Baltic Sea, Galapagos, SF Bay
    8. Kayaking, Buy a sail boat, learn to sail, jet ski, wind surfing, canoeing, tall ship, water ski, drive speedboat, parasailing, surfing, take a cruise ship, white water rafting, 
Visit Every Country (50 down, 150 to go)
  1. North America, Central America, the Caribbean:
    1. Antigua/Barbuda, Bermuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, Jamaica, Virgin Islands (US), Virgin Islands (UK), Windward Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Turks and Caicos
    2. USA, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, Cayman Islands, Dutch Antilles
  2. Asia:
    1. Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, East Timor, Georgia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Iran, Iraq, Mongolia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, UAE, Yemen, Lebanon, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kurdistan, Syria, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzeristan, Macau, Tajikistan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Phillipines, Taiwan, Tibet, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
    2. Cambodia, China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Japan, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Israel, Qatar, Nepal, Palestine, Turkey
  3. Europe
    1. Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Ukraine, San Marino, Monaco
    2. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Vatican
  4. South America
    1. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chili, Columbia, Guyana, French Guyane, Surinam, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela
    2. Peru, Equador, Galapagos
  5. Africa
    1. Algeria, Angola, The Azores, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Islands, DR Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Lesotho, Libya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Malawi, Maldives, Seychelles, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Madagascar, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Togo
    2. Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Kenya
  6. Antarctica
  7. Oceania
    1. Cook Islands, Easter Island, Guam, Micronesia, Polynesia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea/Borneo, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa (US), Western Samoa, Tahiti, Marquesas, Tonga, Vanuatu
    2. Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Hawaii

See every state in the USA (6 left)

  1. Alabama
  2. Iowa
  3. Nebraska
  4. North Dakota
  5. Oklahoma
  6. West Virginia

Spiritual and Physical Health

  1. Study yoga in an ashram
  2. Study meditation in a monastery
  3. Do a three-day fast and vision quest
  4. Get to optimal weight, strength and flexibility
  5. Institute a “daily practice” including physical, mental, spiritual and social practices.
  6. Go vegetarian for a season
  7. Give up alcohol for a season
  8. Work at least one month in each:
    1. Hospice
    2. Soup kitchen
    3. Habitat for Humanity
    4. Convalescent Hospital

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