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Home » News » The Sparkle List

The Sparkle List

Published: Aug 10, 2018 · Modified: Aug 10, 2018

Cherries, Yogurt and Granola

Do you have a Bucket List? I don’t. I have no interest in intensifying my daily activities to include hang gliding or bungee jumping in a master plan for dying happy. I have a master plan for living happy.

So, instead of a bucket list, I have a Sparkle List. Every day, I try to Sparkle just a bit, in some weird, corny little way. Sparkling is not much of an accomplishment or a challenge, but I can choose to Sparkle at any given moment, anywhere I might be. It’s just small stuff, or it can be bigger picture plans. But whether they are big or small plans, I can make them happen in the moment.  These are the thoughts that make me Sparkle.

Take cherries, for instance. I have never seen a cherry tree. We can’t grow cherries where we live. I have never picked cherries or smelled the aroma of their blossoms in the clear spring air. But I love cherries and buy them like a mad woman when they appear in the market. I bought a bag for myself today when I was doing the shopping. It made me happy.

And I began to think how wonderful it would be to pick cherries…to fill up a basket, and sit in the shade, and eat cherries until I couldn’t eat any more. That would be a day to remember. And so, next summer, I think I will go to where the cherry trees are and live that moment. I hadn’t really thought of this before, but I am sure you agree cherry picking is a great idea.

Really, I don’t know anything about cherries, other than as a stone fruit they are related to almonds, plums, and peaches. So I decided to do a little investigating about cherries.

Coincidently, it turns out that the philosophy behind springtime cherry blossom viewing in Japan has everything to do with the temporary nature of life. We bloom, and then we die. Life is short, and sweet, so it is best to do what we want in the moment.

If I hadn’t bought that bag of cherries at my local super market, I wouldn’t have gone home to ponder cherries, and I wouldn’t have learned about their symbolism. See how Sparkling works? It always leads to some new thought, some fresh idea for now, and it carries towards a future. I will harvest those cherries next summer, but I enjoyed thinking about them now.

This may sound like a bucket list plan, but it’s not. In fact, it’s not a plan at all. It’s just a way to see things in the moment as we live our day. Recognize the good stuff that is in front of us and Sparkle along with it. Life has too many serious commitments for weighing down our short time with distant challenges that lack daily joy. No more lists please, and let’s not count down to the end.  Live for now and be truly happy in the moment.

For unlike bungee jumping, I am not afraid to Sparkle.

 

 

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: bucket, cherries, granola, life, philosophy, sparkle

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Comments

  1. Diane Tovar

    August 10, 2018 at 8:21 pm

    Saw you on Texas Country Reporter. Loved it. My husbands family is from Mission. His brother found an ID bracelet in the plowed up field. Looks like from the military. It has the name Capt. McAllen. Could this be from the Mc Allen farm?

    Reply
    • Melissa Guerra

      August 10, 2018 at 8:25 pm

      Hello! I love to hear from RGV folks! Regarding the bracelet, I don’t know. We really didn’t have anyone in our family named mcallen in the service. Can you send me a pic and I can see if I can track the person down? Melissa@melissaguerra.com let me know I’m very interested!!

      Reply
  2. Emily

    September 17, 2018 at 2:03 pm

    You are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your sparkling strategy – a beautiful way to travel through each day! 🙂 Just found your website when I searched to see if you still had a store in San Antonio. It was always one of my favorite spots to visit when I was in town.

    Reply
    • Melissa Guerra

      September 17, 2018 at 2:08 pm

      Thank you so much! I’m online all the time and I am glad to meet you virtually! Stay tuned for more cooling!! Xoxox

      Reply

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Melissa Guerra is an 8th generation Texan, born and raised on a working cattle ranch in South Texas. She is a self taught culinary expert and food historian, specializing in the food ways of the American continent, especially Texas regional, Mexican, and Latin American cuisine. Read More…

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