Good list, it makes sense ;)

Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

Janill, which is your favorite item in the list? Mine is #7, you lift others up with your kindness.

I'd say I try with differing results to achieve all of them, but I'm probably best at:

8.  You make plenty of time for the people you love. When we pay attention to each other we breathe new life into each other.  With frequent attention and affection our relationships flourish, and we as individuals grow stronger.  This is the side effect of great relationships – we help heal each other’s wounds and support each other’s strengths.  So stay in close touch with those you care about – communicate openly on a regular basis.  Not because it’s convenient, but because these people are worth the extra effort.

In the end, the best investment of your limited time on Earth will be to spend it with people you love.  Although it’s perhaps conceivable that you may lie on your deathbed someday regretting that you didn’t work harder and check every little thing off your to-do list, it’s doubtful that your work will be your biggest concern.  What’s more likely, however, is that you will wish you could have one more romantic night with your spouse, another long, heartfelt talk with your sister, and one last good hard laugh with your best friend.

Life is too short to be too busy for the people you love.

I keep a pretty wide circle of friends, and maintain relationships with many old friends.

Do you make a conscious decision of how much time to spend with each, or do you just make sure your time is spent primarily on people you love, but you don't track who gets what time?

I just know when I'm due to talk to someone, some people it's every 7-10 days, and the longest could be 3 years, that would be someone I have not seen in person for about 27 years.  I make trips to Seattle (where I'm from), and see some people every time (immediate family), and rotate seeing the other people, but always seeing people enough to maintain the relationships.

Ok, so it's more making sure you spend time with each of them, than it is making sure you spend a set number of hours with all of them.

Yep maintaining relationships with the time I have, sometimes it's a real stretch, feels like not much time for other things, but I guess it's where my personality leans, it is one of the more important things in my life, and really it just comes natural.  My dad is the same way, huge amount of friends, and he stays in communication with all of them, maybe it's a social gene ;)

Sounds like a social gene to me.

My life is more chaotic. I write to, call, or visit whoever comes to mind that day.

7.  You lift others up with your kindness.

Three things define you:  Your patience when you have nothing, your attitude when you have everything, and who you help whenever you’re able.

Yes, it takes a great deal of strength to be gentle and kind, but you are much stronger than you think.  Even when times are tough, be positive and go above and beyond for those who need you most.  In a world full of people who couldn’t care less, be someone who couldn’t care more.  Be someone who makes someone else look forward to tomorrow.  Act like what you do today makes a difference.  It does.

To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, the purpose of life is not just to be happy, but also to be helpful, to be honorable, to be kind and compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.  (Read The Four Agreements.)

One of our most important callings is this. 

Yes. I love that "three things define you" line.

how about: your patience when you're really hungry and the toddlers are screaming and you've been at the library for 45 minutes selecting them a giant stack of books only to find you don't have your library card and the librarian won't cut you a break.  so you have to put them all back, even hungrier now, with even screamier toddlers. (yep. happened to me yesterday... and somehow i managed to hold it together!!)

i love the very first point: be unapologetically yourself!  harder to do than it sounds.  but reminds me of what oscar wilde said: "be yourself. everyone else is already taken!"

First off, what library still requires cards instead of just having you use any ID? That's so last century!

Second, I do like that "be yourself" advice. Two thoughts:

1. It takes time to learn who you are, and it takes courage to be who you are, so "be yourself" requires practice!

2. The longer I live, the more I believe that not only should you be yourself, but you should "be who you are, as hard as you can". That seems like the best use of the precious little time we have in this world.

One more thought:

Is there any snack food you can carry with you in case you're ever that hungry?

Part of the challenge of phasing out processed food is: what portable snack can you carry with you?

first: i know, right?!  i looked at her in disbelief when she shook her head about the library card. she was oddly silent.

so i took my toddlers back to the children's section where we put the books back, one by one so we could remember which ones they were. and ten minutes later that same librarian showed up in our aisle and i said, "we just finished putting them all back."

"oh shucks!" she said, "because the strict librarian just left and i was going to say let's just use your ID."

i do not make this stuff up.

but i did not cry.  my toddlers were already doing it for me!

second: i love "be who you are as hard as you can!" (seriously, have you read JOONE yet??)

third: almonds. they are the perfect carry-anywhere-lots-of-calories-and-totally-good-for-you snack.  now that you mention it, i will stock my car and house so i am never without almonds again!  being hangry is the worst!