Two Thousand Ten Things

Pic sourced from here

Happy Holidays, Folks! Merry X'mas and Happy New Year in advance! :-)

PS: I spotted this charming cartoon today, for the first time ever I think, while searching for a good C&H Yahoo Group to join. It's quite surprising that I don't recall seeing it before. Obviously, Watterson himself drew this. Two things that intrigue me about the pic - One, I'd have thought Hobbes would appear to be as alive - be a real Tiger - to Watterson as he is to Calvin. Two, Watterson's ability to see Calvin as something that transcends his (Watterson's) identity as a cartoonist and not as a 'proud' creation but as an idea that jumps at him from 'outside' is admirable.

BTW, here's some unsolicited, borrowed (some...not all...ok?), random, unorganized, impulsive, holiday-mood-inspired advice....the more of these ideas you pursue, the better.

Enjoy your work, enjoy your life, be good, dance and laugh like a kid, sing as long as it is not cacophonous or..wait.... just go ahead and take the risk, laze around if you have to, be genuine, be straight forward and honest, write some profoundly silly poems, play with colours, run with the dog, tweet and chirp with the birds, scream out loud for no reason, make faces at yourself in the mirror, pretend to be the world's CEO, talk utter nonsense, find something great to do, ignore or learn to handle the trouble-makers, forgive more easily, see things from another person's perspective, smile a lot, pay attention to your physical health, mind and soul, read something hilarious, help someone on an impulse, learn something new, inspire yourself, inspire a sad soul (obviously a captive audience), listen to the hitherto inconspicuous rhythm in your favourite song, travel somewhere new even if it's just a few blocks away from your house, pray for someone who needs divine intervention, listen to your conscience, stop asking "what's in it for me" when you help others, stop calculating the cost (financial) of everything you do, cook a new dish and brush off a speck of dust from your apron when people say it looks life-threatening, break a bad habit, forget your worries, believe that you deserve some cool miracles in 2010, rescue someone from yourself (very very important), watch a squirrel eat, take deep and long breaths, trust yourself, do something different, be original, do something courageous, focus on something with intensity and concentration, look for the funny side of everything, stay optimistic, take your own decisions, claim your freedom, stand up for your values, respect everyone, appreciate existence, watch a tree breathe and exist, be still and travel within...... (Does this add up to two thousand ten things? I am too lazy to count but something tells me it does! He he)

Guidelines: Report progress to me in a month's time. Reports should be in Times New Roman, Font Size.12, With Subject Line as "Two Thousand Ten Things to Do in Two Thousand Ten". Attach a photograph or two for evidence but make sure it doesn't scare me out of my wits while at the same time noting that I am a person whom it is easy to scare out of her wits. Testimonials from people around you will fetch an extra mark or two. However, if the testimonials sound too good to be true, a lot of marks will be ruthlessly deducted. Total marks obtained cannot exceed two thousand eleven. (One extra mark for attempting to contest in this bizarre, er, contest). The winning entry will be added to this blog under the "Inspiration! Influence!" section and will find a place alongside other ordinary people like Gandhi, Shakespeare, Einstein et al. Run now! Or should I say 'slow down!'?