52® Things to Try Once in Your Life

By Lynn Gordon

Illustrated by Susan Synanki & Karen Johnson

Take Off!

You’ve wanted to go to that tropical island, or that cultural hot spot, or the biggest rock in the world (that would be Ayers Rock in Australia), but you just haven’t gotten to it. Well, now’s the time. If you’ve got the rocket juice, just call and make reservations today. Or you could start saving, planning, getting hot tips about restaurants and colorful locals, and then go. The point is to stretch your wings and make the adventure happen without waiting for the stars to line up perfectly. That may take a while.

The Circus

It’s easy to forget the magic and thrill you felt at the circus as a child. As an adult, you might see and appreciate elements you weren’t aware of as a kid. If you didn’t like the circus as a child, give it another shot. It might be less scary and more amazing than ever. And if you’d rather not see endangered species prance through burning hoops wearing bows, try an animal-free circus like Cirque du Soleil. As an adult, you can eat a whole cotton candy without getting a stomachache. But bring a kid as your date, just to remember the full spectrum of magic.

Make Your Own List

Perhaps you find these cards too Ozzie & Harriet? Well, there’s only so much the network censors would let me get away with. You, on the other hand, should feel free to go wild (emphasis on WILD) and come up with your own list. Think edgy and bold, extravagant and eccentric. Your imagination is the limit. Look through random magazines for inspiration. Don’t hold back. It’s your own darn life.

Looking Good

Of course, there’s more to life than just your dashing good looks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy and benefit from a total professional makeover. Think “look like a million bucks” and start with a top-notch stylist for your hair. Then add a cosmetologist for your face, a wardrobe and style consultant, a manicure and pedicure, and teeth whitening. Once you’ve been waxed, buffed, and polished from follicles to cuticles, you can wear those baggy sweatpants and that ripped T-shirt with impunity.

A Year to Live

One way to find out what really matters to you is to look at the year as if it were your last. Not like a tragic season finale, but as the basis of a richer life. Make a list of the things you wouldn’t want to die without doing. Maybe it’s something you want to say to the people you love. Or someone you need to see. It could be a simple “I’m sorry,” to an old friend or that boyfriend whose heart you broke when you were 15 years old. You’ll have a great year and will become excited to live many more.

Garçon more Snails

Nobody should leave this world without eating escargots. Not only are they a great excuse to eat tons of garlic and butter, eating them also makes for fabulous story openings, such as, “I was flipping through a recent issue of Red Herring, eating escargots in bed, when suddenly the phone rang…” You shouldn’t spend your life wondering if the little devils taste like lawn clippings or not. So, order them the next time you go to a French restaurant, or just pick up one of those funny cans with the clear tube of shells on top from a gourmet grocery store. If the snails go over well, you can graduate to fois gras, tripe, and flambé.

Parlez Vous?

Have you been wondering what “je ne sais quoi” means? Or if “que sera, sera” is a cheap wine? When you learn a new language, not only do those niggling questions get answered, but you’ll also be surprised at how much of the world opens up to you. Your cultural perspective will get bigger, you might make new friends, understand menus better, and enjoy traveling more. You’ll carpe diem and have more joie de vivre. Go ahead, look ‘em up, then sign up.

A Year Abroad

It’s great to travel, but there’s no better way to get under the surface and beyond the tourist traps than to live there. You’ll absorb a completely new culture. The art, food, language, and landscape will become part of you. Instead of just going to Italian restaurants, you can buy your mozzarella at the farmers’ market and make your own pizza in your little Tuscan farmhouse. You might even want to consider a house swap. Or just put everything in storage (except for the dog and your kids) and take off without any scheduled date to return. Hey, it’s your life.

Leaps

There are some wild experiences available for those with a taste for exotic adventures. If you’re willing to venture beyond the safe walls of Club Med, try walking on hot coals. Or maybe you’ve had a dream about the resident shaman in the rainforest of Ecuador. On the tamer side, you can always take a swim with dolphins. Taking a leap into a transcendent experience is a great way to discover yourself. Not sure what you should do first? Start by asking a psychic.

Dance On

Whether you’ve got rhythm or not, two left feet, or a prosthetic leg, you can still experience the joy of dancing your heart out. First find the music that stirs you. If you lean toward Latin rhythms, take a salsa class. If you like a more serious look, try the tango. Your local ballroom club will have a complete menu to choose from and a way to get a little taste of everything. There’s usually a class before an open dance, giving you a great way to learn some new steps. You may be surprised at how little footwork it takes to have so much simple pleasure. Cha cha cha!

Big Night

Are you waiting to win a Nobel Prize, get backstage passes to a Rolling Stones concert, or get asked out by George Clooney before indulging in a big night out? Well, don’t wait. If you’ve never ridden in a limousine, had dinner on a boat, or sipped champagne from a perch with a view while sampling caviar, seize the moment and commit to a date. Enlist a friend with the same shared fantasy and make it happen. Maybe you’ve already done these things but are still harboring a fantasy to try something else. What exactly might that be?

Give Away

We rarely regret generous acts as much as we regret holding them back. There is a simple and deep joy in giving. So give yourself the gift of a generosity spree. You can start with $20 and give it all away in one day. Leave it all as a big tip for a $7 lunch, or give a dollar to everyone you see on a city block. Watch the delight, surprise, disbelief, maybe even suspicion as you blow a stranger’s mind. You may like it so much that you do it on a regular basis. Try $40, then $100. If you have the money to share, there’s no feeling like being the miracle someone has been waiting for.

Old-Fashioned Shave

A nostalgic walk down Main Street in Any Town, U.S.A. might take you past a barber shop and a beauty salon. Stop in and get an old-fashioned shave with the other real men. Or if the gender suits you better, stop in at the beauty salon and have your hair “done.”

Act on Love

Very few people ever regret acting on love. Most regret not taking the risk. So, don’t risk the regret: cross that excruciating invisible line and approach that charming stranger you’ve been watching for the past half-hour at the corner cafe (after checking the wedding finger). Or send flowers to that hot neighbor anonymously, making sure there are enough tidbits of evidence to implicate you (you wouldn’t want another neighbor to get the credit, would you?). It’s wonderful to be on the receiving end when the gesture is done respectfully and without expectations. So, let Cupid play.

All Nighter

If you’re not cramming for an exam, pulling an all-nighter can verge on a spiritual experience. Watching the sun set, then a sunrise and sunset again can put you in touch with our revolving planet hurtling through space. Whether it’s on an urban rooftop, in an open-air forest, or in your suburban backyard, watching the stars all night beats TV. Either solo, for that just-me-and-the universe feeling, or with a group of others for the Girl Scout-outing ambiance, see what opens up in your imagination only in the dark. Make sure you’re safe and your imagination will have a much better time.

Milk a Cow

The problem with people is that not enough of them are getting knee-deep in manure and forming primary relationships with farm animals. It isn’t until you’ve milked a cow, birthed a foal, or maybe just ridden a horse that you know, well, what it’s like to milk a cow, birth a foal, or ride a horse. It’s earthy and real. That’s what it is. And if you grew up on a farm, apply your skills to an elephant or camel the next time you’re in Morocco.

Out of this World

Have you ever seen Saturn’s moons? Or watched an eclipse up close? Do you ever wonder if there’s life on other planets? Or how far a light year is? Gazing into the cosmos is…well…out of this world and will fill you with so much awe and wonder, you’ll sound like Carl Sagan. To begin to sense the vastness of our universe, go to the local planetarium. You can also check out the amazing view from www.hubblesite.org/gallery. There are probably also some great astronomy classes at a local junior college. Learning about the stars may give you a new perspective on the unique and amazing conditions of life on our own precious little planet, third from the sun, next to a black hole, in the corner of the Milky Way galaxy.

Buy a Lotto Ticket

I know, you probably don’t indulge in such wasteful pastimes as wondering what you would do with an extra ten million dollars. But just this once, wait until the pot is really big and buy a ticket. Heck, buy five tickets. Become seriously superstitious and rub that talisman, don’t step on cracks, and whatever else you do to give yourself good luck. And then when you don’t win, you can go back to the pious high ground and disdain all forms of gambling. But if you do win…hey, where’d you go?

The Big Chill

Whatever happened to your best friends from college? Or the tight group from your year abroad? It’s a special thrill to see old friends and remind each other of who you were 20, 25, or maybe even 30 years ago. Where are they now? You can track down your old friends through the Internet or alumni organizations. Send out e-mails and see who’s still around. If there’s interest, rent a house for a weekend and bring along the music that was the soundtrack to your life back then.

Speak in Public

Most people consider public speaking the most universally frightening thing they can do. Yet it also can be the most self-affirming, personally gratifying and door-opening activity. Not every public appearance needs to be a Gettysburg address. You can start at a Toastmasters class. Or maybe it’s time to invite all your friends over for a talk on walrus tusk hygiene. Make up a silly topic and get your feet wet. Then go for something you’re passionate about and hold a workshop. Who knows? It might even become a new career path.

Important Life Questions

Write down all the weird things you’ve always wondered about, from how they get the letters “MetM” on the candy to how Wi-Fi works or why you can’t hear people grow. Life is too short to spend the rest of it wondering. With the vast resources as close as an Internet connection, the answers are easy to find. But you don’t have to stop there. Take the class at the local junior college, or go on the naturalist-led adventure. And if you’re lucky, you’ll have more questions at the end of the adventure than you did at the beginning.

Radical Hair Make-Over

Shave off all your hair. Just once. Haven’t you always wondered what your scalp really looks like? Done that? Then grow it long. Got a beard? Shave it. Never had one, grow one (if you can). And if even that’s too extreme, how about a fabulous perm? Just get out of the rut and try something new. Sure, piercings and tattoos are an option, but if your boss, mother, or principal ask, you didn’t hear it here. Start with hair. It grows back.

Read That Classic

You’ve heard it quoted, you know it’s great, but you’re a little daunted, overscheduled, and just haven’t gotten to it. Well, stop waiting. Pick up War and Peace or Moby Dick or Gone with the Wind and start reading. Whether by circumstance (locked out of the house, waiting for a flight) or by choice, find an all-night diner, take Ulysses or Wuthering Heights or whatever and read the entire book as you sip coffee or hot chocolate. Just don’t let yourself die wondering what gems of artistic achievement and insight lie between the covers.

A Good Cause

Stop waiting for that someday when you’ll have the time to become a Big Brother or work for Amnesty International. Do it now. Feeding the needs of humanity also feeds your spirit. That’s not something you should wait to do. And if time isn’t abundant but money is, donate generously to a heartfelt cause. If you’re interested in global human rights issues, check out www.amnesty.org. For global warming check out www.stopglobalwarming. org, and for general disaster relief try www.redcross.org. It’s a start.

Go Fish

What is this big fascination men have with catching big fish? Find out for yourself. With a Hemingway attitude, and a fabulous hat, set out once and for all to discover the spiritual joy of standing silently for hours while holding a long pole. The mystique of fishing is so subtle, it may elude you. If so, take that primal hunter/gathering instinct to the woods and try your hand at an honest hunt…for mushrooms or great photos. Is that hunter instinct wired into your DNA? You might start to feel your primal roots stirred with vague memories of saber-toothed tigers.

A Massage

There is something wonderful about being pampered through touch. A massage or facial is one of the nicest ways to receive this touch. If you’ve already tried one, then do the other. If you’ve tried both, then go the next step and give yourself a whole day or weekend away at a spa. It’s totally restorative, deeply relaxing, and probably something you’ll want to repeat several times in your life.

Sing Out!

Most of us secretly love to sing, even if we can’t hold a tune. Maybe it’s time to come out of the shower. The towel’s waiting. You can always start with a few loud friends and a Beatles songbook. Or try singing lessons with a supportive (a.k.a. not perfectionist) teacher. Or maybe you’re ready to join an a capella choir. Whether you have a folder filled with original love songs or a great theme for a grunge band, it’s time to take the next step. Studies show that you can’t stay miserable while you’re singing. Not even the blues.

Celebrate Your Heroes

Everybody needs a hero or two or five, not to idealize but to show us what’s possible for ourselves. Get an autographed picture of a contemporary person, your favorite teacher, artist, activist, singer, athlete—anyone you admire—and put it next to your mirror. You don’t have to limit it to famous living people. Pictures can usually be tracked down through production studios or through sports teams. If your hero is alive, write them a letter thanking them and telling them how their lives have touched you. You’ll feel great and make their day too.

Change a Diaper

Those littler poopers are all over the place. The neighbors have one, your sister has two, and your best friend is now expecting. Learning to change a diaper is a rite of passage, bringing you one step closer to nirvana. Oh, you’ve been changing diapers all week? Well, have you assisted in the birth of a baby? Talk about a rite of passage. Life doesn’t get any simpler or more profound than this.

Family Treasures

Have you ever wondered how your great-uncle Otto earned the nickname “Mustang”? Or whether you’re related to Queen Victoria (you do have her nose, after all). Collecting family stories is a great way to feel rooted in history. Look through family albums with an older relative and ask open-ended questions like, “What was it like growing up during the Depression?” or “How did you and Grampa meet and fall in love?” Get help drawing your family tree and find out about those relatives whose names have never been mentioned. For even more help, find genealogy resources at www.genhomepage.com. You may want to turn your findings into a family gift.

Swim in the Ocean

If you’ve only had the opportunity to swim in chlorinated pools or muddy lakes, you must go out to sea. Don’t worry, Jaws was just a movie and there are plenty of safe beaches around. A little swim in the ocean can help you feel your place in the larger world. And what an invigorating way to do it! If there’s a sand dune nearby, roll down it. I would suggest rolling down the dune before going swimming-unless you want to look like a creature from an old horror film.

Feed a Horse

Feed an animal. Call your local zoo or aquarium about feeding times. Try feeding lizards, sea anemones, and baby birds in addition to some large-tongued dewy-eyed mammals. Feel the velvety muzzles of horses and goats, giraffes have very big tongues, and cows and cats have sandpapery tongues. Not only is it an interesting tactile experience, but the up close and personal perspective you get will make you marvel at the wide range of beings who share our world…and their very strange eating habits.

Singin’ in the Rain

Instead of closing the windows and turning on the TV when it starts sprinkling, put on your dancing galoshes, grab the closest human, and head out the door. Whether you start with the classic Gene Kelly version or make up a rap tune, don’t forget to swing around a few lamp posts or trees and click your heals once or twice. It’s exhilarating, fun, and downright silly. And, like most public displays of strange behavior, it is best done with no concern for the consequences…unless you’ve just gotten over a bout of pneumonia.

Watch Something Grow

Watch something grow from seed to maturity, whether it’s a plant, a puppy, or a child. It is miraculous to see things sprout, bloom, and come to fruition under your care. It also gives you a true feeling for the passage of time.

The Great American Novel

Do you have a bodice ripper or murder mystery sizzling in the back of your brain? Well, it might just be the makings of a best-seller. Or, maybe your great opus is a memoir or historical fiction. The difference between most of us and, say, Danielle Steele and Michael Crichton, is that best-selling authors actually wrote the darn thing down. You owe it to your future fans to give yourself a writing retreat, hire a writing coach, or get a software upgrade: whatever it takes to face the blank page. Just get started. Here, I’ll even give you an opener: Once upon a time…

Write a Children’s Book

You’ve probably told or heard a story that would make a wonderful children’s book. Even if it’s just for yourself, your own kids, or your nieces and nephews, write the story down and illustrate it as best you can or ask a five-year-old to paint the pictures he sees when he hears it. Make copies and share it with all the children in your life. If you get inspired, check out the Children’s Book Literary Marketplace to see what would be involved if you wanted to get it published.

Dropping Some Dough

There are a zillion cool things to do once in your life that don’t require tons of bucks, but if you happen to have a hefty surplus this month, here are some activities you might want to try:

Take a hot-air balloon ride

Sky dive

Scuba dive

Go on an African safari

Retreat for a few weeks of pampering at a world-class health spa

Have portraits painted of you and your loved ones

Hire someone to turn that design in your head (for a ring or a gown or solarium…) into reality.

Motorcycle Mama

You’ve got two choices here: Either you ask your friend to let you climb on the back the next time she zips down the coast, or you take that motorcycle safety class and learn how to ride a Harley of your own—unless, of course, you’ve got another friend with an old Norton he wouldn’t mind letting you drop in the mud a couple of times. Don’t forget the sexy gear. Heck, this is your chance to get the silk scarf, leather duds, and that Harley T-shirt. Go all the way, and take pictures.

Fall in Love

As the old adage goes, “It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.” I hate that saying. I think it’s better to love and live happily ever after. So, if you’re on the fence for the millionth time, fall in instead of playing it safe. And if it doesn’t work out, check out one of the other decks in this series, 52 Ways to Mend a Broken Heart.

Forgive Your Parents

Really. Write down everything you resent about your parents and go through the list asking yourself what you can forgive. The startling fact is that parents are human, and when you realize they were doing their best under the circumstances, you may feel a bit more compassion. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean you condone what they did. Not only will you feel lighter and freer but you’ll be more able to enjoy your remaining time with them. Feel good? Now, do the same with your partner, your children, your boss, neighbors, the guy who took your parking space…you get the idea.

Invent!

So you hate losing your remote control? Or the mop is flawed? Everybody should get to play Thomas Edison once in their lives. Think of something that really bugs you and then design a fix. Make a model of your new invention, so that at least your life will have been improved in one small way. Then, before you tell everybody about it, check online for information on how to file a patent (it’s not that hard, really), or see if there is a patent clearinghouse library near your town. You may have invented a billion-dollar toenail clipper.

Front Row Seats

Treat yourself to the insanity of getting front-row seats to something you love, from an Olympic figure-skating competition to the opera. Spare no expenditure of money, energy, or contacts to get those seats. The pursuit of the tickets, including camping out at 5:00 A.M. at the ticket office with a canteen of hot coffee is half the entertainment. But be sure to get a good night’s sleep before the actual performance!

Dear President

At some point in your life, when the president does something that thrills you (it could happen) or really pisses you off, let him know exactly what you think by writing a letter and sending it directly to the White House. You may not get a personal response, but you will have the satisfaction of speaking your mind directly to the Man.

A Baseball Game

Every American has a patriotic duty to attend a home game at least once. First you struggle to park, then you eat too many hot dogs, drink flat, overpriced beer, get sunburned, spend 20 minutes trying to find a bathroom, and feel totally fried. Oh, and don’t forget to lose your voice cheering and booing (just try to make sure it’s at the right time and for the right team). You’ll love it: it’s an all-American pastime.

Dressed to Thrill

If you don’t have an official occasion (White House dinner invitations are increasingly hard to come by, I hear), create one, and come dressed completely out of character. Whether it’s a gown and family heirloom (no heirloom? Try Goodwill), your old wedding dress or striped tights and mini skirt. At your own birthday or a New Year’s Eve party, take the chance and dress daringly different from your usual gussied-up self.

Go Climb a Mountain

Why? Because it’s there. And there’s something about reaching the top of a tall mountain after battling the elements, schlepping the gear, and giving it your all that’s pure sweet victory—not to mention a breathtaking view. Life is good. Anything is possible. Pick your mountain carefully, though, allowing for a little challenge and a lot of awareness of your physical limitations.

Skinny Dip

In the ideal art-directed skinny-dipping scene, there is a perfectly calm and clear lake lit by a full moon, with a small dock on which you leave your Diesel jeans before slipping gracefully into the water. You discover a warm towel and cup of tea awaiting your return as you hoist yourself back up onto the dock without scraping your shins. Although just short of aesthetic perfection, how about just finding a lake and a place to dump your clothes? Jump in!

A Love Letter

It may be totally out of character, but just once in your life put your mind and heart into it and let romance loose on paper in a hot love letter. More important than hot, though, is sincere. A love letter can be particularly wonderful when it is to someone you have loved for a long time and it comes out of the blue. And don’t send it as an e-mail. Use good old-fashioned scented stationery, add a pressed flower, seal it with a kiss, write the address in a purple pen, and put a pretty stamp on it. Don’t hold back. Do check your spelling, however.

Taste Snow

There are a plethora of highly overrated and expensive activities that take place in cold weather and, more specifically, snow. But the simpler pleasures of building a snowman, having a snowball fight, or tasting snow are cheap thrills that can be enjoyed at any age.

Seven Natural Wonders

You needn’t be compulsive and visit all seven natural wonders in one week, but how about just one? They are really quite amazing and, you know, wondrous.

Mount Everest, between Nepal and Tibet

The Grand Canyon in the United States

Paricutin Volcano in Mexico

The northern lights

The Great Barrier Reef, off Australia

The harbor at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil

Victoria Falls in Africa

All Day in Bed

It’s so decadent one really must do it at least once. With a box of bonbons on the night stand, a TV Guide, a stack of trashy magazines, your recently begun memoirs, and the princess phone within easy reach, stay in bed all day alone, or with someone you love—in which case you probably won’t be needing the TV Guide.

Poop in the Woods

The title says it all.

Other eTitles from the 52® Series

Look for these and other titles at your digital store:

52 Fun Things to Do in the Car

52 Fun Things to Do on the Plane

52 Cool Tricks for Kids

52 Rainy Day Activities

52 Amazing Science Experiments

52 Ways to Pamper Yourself

52 Tips for New Parents

52 Things to Try Once in Your Life

52 Great Cheap Dates

52 Relaxing Rituals

52 Ways to Stay in Love Forever

Copyright

52 Things to Try Once in Your Life

© 1995, 2008 Lynn Gordon. A Spark! production.

All rights reserved. No part of this deck may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

eISBN: 978-1-4521-0404-1

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

For my dear sister, Dale, who lives her life to the fullest, and with contagious courage and vitality.