Cross One Off the List?

Sam's work is being displayed in the Founders' Day Art Show today. He is beside himself with excitement, but worried we won't be able to find his piece amid the sea of Kindergartners' work. Rest assured, Sam, we won't rest until we find it!

Sam has been "going to be an artist" since he was 3 years old - half his life now. He doesn't realize he is already an artist. His art is perfectly Sam.

Attending Sam's first opening is on my list of things that I want to do before I leave the planet. When I made the list a few months ago, I thought experiencing or accomplishing these things would be satisfying. But somehow, crossing it off the list feels a little sad instead.

Maybe I am perceiving it as an ending, rather than a beginning. Or perhaps I need to shift the focus from myself to Sam. If I reframe it as the first step in Sam's career, instead of seeing it as an "event" to cross off my own lifelist, it opens up a world of possibilities.

It would be a good exercise to revisit that list. I'm sure it would change, given this emerging self knowledge and insight.