Welcome
Welcome to Right Now! Notes, an almost-monthly newsletter. This issue is designed to inspire you to consider what you want to do with this one "wild and precious life"!

The List
“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. ... Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust never alienate, never by tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you.”
—conversation between Merlyn the magician and Wart (the future King Arthur of the Round Table) from The Once and Future King by T. H. White

Every day brochures and catalogs come in the mail, announcing classes for music, dance, art, therapy, computers, and writing. I want to sign up for everything! As I buy my children’s school supplies, I long to tuck a few of my own in the basket. When I meet clients at the bookstore, it’s all I can do to stay away from the stacks of new books!

Learning, as Merlyn advised, can encourage and stimulate and soothe and calm. Only one question remains: what to learn?

Eleven years ago, cradling my six-month old son in one arm, I scribbled a list with the other: fifty things that I wanted to do or learn before I died. I was doing one of them at that moment: attending a writing workshop, taking one step closer to my dream of becoming a professional writer.

My husband and I wrote about that exercise in our book, The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care (Alban, 2002):
If you died today, what would you regret not having done? Twenty years ago, Ted Leonosis, now a top media executive, was on a plane that had to make an emergency landing. That experience forced Ted to confront his own mortality. As a result, he made a list of 101 things he wanted to do in his life, including changing someone else’s life through a charity. He has now accomplished many of the items on his list. (167)

This month, do the list of fifty or one hundred things you want to do or learn before you die. It’s a great way to figure out what you want to learn right now. Choose one item from your list to accomplish this fall. Then do it—right now!

Last month, confounded by the long list of things I wanted to write, I asked myself: “If you died today, what would you regret not having written?” The answer came swiftly—the memoir. I’ve picked up that project again and write every day. That’s my one thing for the fall. The rest of the things on my list will have to wait. When I get discouraged (and we all do), I listen to this song:
Fly away little bird
Find the song in you that no one's heard
Strengthen your wings as you sing your solo flight
Through this short life
. . .
Fly away little bird
The saddest song I ever heard
Was the one I wrote you in my heart
That never made it to the world
—Emily Saliers, Fly Away, on the Indigo Girls’ CD Despite Our Differences

Make your list. Find your song. Right now.

With my best wishes,
Rochelle
your right now! coach

Write Now! Retreat
If you want to write a book before you die, then mark your schedule for the November 8-11, 2007 Write Now! Retreat. Readers, this is the best writing coaching deal I offer! You’ll get three coaching sessions, four classes, and oodles of time to write for the low price of $500. You can’t beat it! Contact me (rochelle@rightnowcoach.com) to get a registration form. Visit my Web site to learn more about this amazing opportunity to get your writing done right now! Registration must be in by October 8th to get the special hotel rate.

Write Now! Weekly Tip
Coming this fall: a whole new newsletter from the Right Now! Coach. My Write Now! Weekly Tips will give you a short, helpful tip for getting writing done right now. And the best news is this: it’s absolutely free! No need to do anything: all Right Now! Notes subscribers will get the Write Now! Newsletter, too.

Spread the Music
Please pass on this issue of Right Now! Notes to anyone who needs to find their song right now!

Right Now! Notes is a free
monthly e-mail newsletter designed to
consider how we can integrate spirituality
and creativity into our daily lives. It is written and
produced by Rochelle Melander, personal and
professional coach. If you have any questions
or comments, please send them to:
rochelle@rightnowcoach.com.
I would love to hear from you.

Feel free to forward your copy of
Right Now! Notes to anyone you think
might enjoy it. I do request that you keep
the entire newsletter intact, including
my contact and copyright information.
 
This newsletter is COPYRIGHT 2007
by ROCHELLE MELANDER,
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Do not quote without the
written permission of the author.