a peek inside the fishbowl

02 May, 2016

About that bucket list

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Misc. life

I woke up this morning with a pain in my neck and wisps of a bad dream in my thoughts. I dreamed that I was very very lonely. I felt it deep inside myself, like a rock rolling around in my gut. I saw myself standing at a wall overlooking a beautiful view. I am so alone, I said, to the person beside me. She/he (?) took my hand and held it tightly.

I am not alone. I know this, but I felt it so keenly in my dream. I’m not sure what to make of this.

Flooded

I have lost my mojo today, and frankly, I’m finding it hard to put one foot in front of the other.

One of my peers passed away last week and I can’t stop thinking about it. She was only 48 – a wife and mother of two – but of course, so much more than that. I don’t know how she died but I do know there are a lot of people who are absolutely gutted by the loss and are in a great deal of pain right now.

Today I feel like I am treading water but not really going anywhere. Everything feels pretty pointless at the moment and I am questioning my priorities. Am I doing enough? What is enough? The rational side of me understands that we just can’t realistically live our lives as if we’re going to be dead tomorrow, but still, that feeling niggles at me. I am flooded by the injustice. To leave this world before the trees break into their cloaks of green; before the crab apples and tulips and peonies come into bloom; before Mother’s Day, surrounded by the people who love you most, who you love most… seems to be the biggest tragedy of all. Did she have a chance to say goodbye? The mere thought is haunting me.

Perhaps what we need to do, in order to honour those who have left us too early, is to live a little more fully, a little more mindfully, and with a little more love.


5 Responses to "About that bucket list"

1 | Claudette

May 2nd, 2016 at 2:43 pm

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I am sorry to read that. I understand the feeling too, and the only thing I can think of is to say give yourself a break. Mojo can come back another day…

2 | Sabrina

May 2nd, 2016 at 5:24 pm

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Beautifully expressed Andrea — thanks for the reminder.

3 | Misty Pratt

May 3rd, 2016 at 1:20 pm

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I recently finished the book “When Breath Becomes Air”…it’s devastating, and yet so beautiful. Death slaps you right in the face while reading it, and says “wake up!!” A very good read for anyone wanting to honor ourselves, and those who have left us too early. I’m so sorry for your loss xoxo

4 | coffee with julie

May 4th, 2016 at 2:58 pm

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Thank you for writing this. I haven’t really been able to express anything intelligently around the sudden loss of such a beautiful person.

5 | Lynn

May 9th, 2016 at 1:20 pm

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What Julie said – I can’t even begin to say anything meaningful about this, so thanks for capturing the sadness and anger.

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My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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