Today’s Writer’s Almanac included a quote from Goethe:

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

In our hectic, harried, hurried, 21st Century life-on-the-run, that sounds like such a simple, peaceful prescription for a mind-nourishing day.

But I got to wondering if I were to write a little prescription like that, a set of simple suggestions to nourish one’s mind and spirit and counteract the effects of our society’s manic pace, what would be on my list? And what would be on yours?

I suspect everyone’s list would be different, as it would reflect activities meaningful to the person with the pen in hand, jotting them down. The list of an introvert would be quite different from that of an extrovert, for example, as would the list of an active, outdoorsy person versus a bookworm.

I’d love to see what your version would be of the Goethe quote. Write it any way you like: Write it as if only for yourself–activities that you know work for you–or write it to recommend to the world.

And because I’m feeling like a total risk-taker, I’m going to try to include Mr. Linky, so we can link to each other and share our versions. My motto for the day: Life is short–add new code to your blog!

** Disclaimer: I’ve never done a linky-meme before, so this is an experiment. I wasn’t given a choice as to what to name it, so I picked one called “In ‘Other’ Words.” I’m not sure about putting “Other” in quotes like that, but it seemed like a fairly close description.

Okay, using Goethe’s as your model or inspiration, write up your own “One ought” prescription for what a day should include. Link back here (if it works), and we’ll see what we all came up with (if Mr. Linky fails, just post them in the Comments).

Here’s mine (reserving the right to edit after reading how awesome yours are):

One ought, every day at least, to drink a cup of tea (or two), take a little walk or jog, hug someone, pray (often and earnestly), laugh, learn something new, ponder a passage from Scripture, read a good paragraph or two from something else (including, but not limited to, poetry), and, if it were possible, to write a few reasonable words.

It’s not as succinct or quotable as Goethe, but hey, I’m not Goethe. And don’t let that stop you, either.

Now, in “other” words–that is, yours!

[**UPDATE  Forget the Mr. Linky thing. I tried something I didn't fully understand. But be sure to paste the link to your page in the comments, so we can enjoy a visit to your site.]