Lists

I have a friend who I believed to be obsessed with lists ... he tracked everything ... well, at least everything that the hours in a day would permit. I recall his bemoaning not being able to track as much he wanted and/or the lack of historical data.

I, on the other hand, kept no lists ... well, that's not exactly true ... every now and again, I would start a list ... and then as a result of procrastination or sheer laziness or being overwhelmed would stop ... and the list would wither and die somewhere unattended.

Lately, I've found myself drawn to list-making ... not the typical to-do list (I've always kept those ... there's something so inherently pleasing about crossing something off a list ... how could I resist?) ... I mean lists of movies, books and other sundry items. I'm doing not bad at all at recording ... but ...

The sheer act of recording movies watched or books read ... brings a slightly bitter taste to my mouth ... as every time I add a new book or movie ... I can't help but remember all the movies viewed and books read that have not made it to my list.

Inevitably this leads to a mini self-discussion about the "worth" of even keeping the list at this time ... a debate as to whether I should add a section of past movies viewed or books read ... or should that be another list ...

I mean ... who would have thought that something as seemingly simple as keeping a list could have so many complicated layers?

I still haven't decided what to do about the past ... but I certainly do have a better appreciation for the friend mentioned above ... and his years of tracking and list making. As for me, I'll keep tracking into the future ... and as for the past ...

time will tell ...