i’ve never

You often hear people say:

• “Actions speak louder than words.”, or
• “What you do defines who you are.”

And a lot of the time it feels like the easiest way to summarise all of your amazingness into a few words, is to just recite your job title, knowing that immediately all people will fill in the blanks.

“Oh, your a Doctor?” – you must be smart, rich, with a nice house and car, and you like to play golf. “Oh, you’re a janitor” – you’re poorly paid, and probably poorly educated, and probably are struggling through life everyday. You’re probably miserable. I don’t think I can relate to you. Moving along…

All these preconceptions we have about people creates missed opportunities to get to really know someone. So maybe we’ve been asking the wrong questions?

A related thought I’ve been having is that:

The things you have never done or never do tells the story of who aren’t. And who you might become.

And for the most part, only you know what those things are. There’s this whole, dark side of the moon for each of us to explore. I sense that to get a full picture of someone, you need to shine a special light on the invisible things as well, so that they can be seen. That kind of light is special, as it can reveal your fears, hopes and dreams.

Another way to think about all of this is to consider this unfinished statue. Your life’s work should strip away the little rocks standing in your way until the final masterpiece is revealed. The things you never do and have never done could be the things trapping you in the stone.

So I’ve decided to compile a list of the things that I don’t do and have never done, and to start working on them. Some are things I’ve been avoiding through fear or worry. Others are things that I hope I can find a way to achieve. I’ll also keep track of the things that I’ve scratched off the list. Come back from time to time, and see how I’m going! And please leave suggestions!

I’ve Never

• Skydived
• Ridden a motorcycle
• Learned photography
• Gone spelunking
• Abseiled
• Learned welding
• Competed in sports since high school
• Learned to fix my bike properly
• Performed in a theatrical production since primary school
• Performed live music since high school
• Run a marathon
• Competed in a triathlon
• Jogged more that 5 km
• Cooked dinner regularly
• Baked a loaf of bread
• Made my own pizza dough
• Created a work of art
• Taken a creative writing class
• Written a book
• Painted a painting
• Mastered a musical instrument
• Performed a solo musical act in public – karaoke does’t count
• Mastered a foreign language
• Lived in a foreign city for longer that 1 month
• Wandered in a desert
• Been to the Arctic or Antartica
• Visited North or South America
• Seen an aurora
• Swum in a shark tank
• Sailed by myself
• Built a robot
• Worked out how to fix a bike properly
• Restored a piece of furniture
• Built anything useful out of wood
• Been on holidays for longer than 3 weeks since starting full-time work
• Gone camping for more that 4 days
• Worked less than 5 days a week
• Done anything useful with my Permaculture Design Certificate
• Volunteered at a soup kitchen
• Sat down to talk with a homeless person
• Saved someone’s life

I Have Now

• Opened that bottle of 1990 Penfolds Grange Hermitage (that I’ve had since 1995). Shared with good friends and family over a meal – Jan 2017
• Been to a day spa with my wife for a wonderful, relaxing, full body massage. It was soooo good – Jan 2017
• Started writing on a regular basis since Jan 2017. I’m really enjoying it too!

Last updated: Jan 22nd, 2017