In A Shot Of Optimism

A moment arrives in each of our lives when we face our own mortality. It may be hitting a “big birthday,” a prolonged illness, or the sudden passing of someone years younger. Whatever it is, we come to grips with the fact that we have to stop postponing!! We have to get busy with creating that famous bucket list – the list of adventures we want to take before we kick the bucket.

I confess I have a lot on my list. I want to see the pyramids along the Nile, marvel at the African plains’ wildlife, experience the grand vistas of the Milford Track in New Zealand, and explore the mysteries of Angkor Wat.

And I’ve heard many people talk about their bucket lists. I always agreed it was important to accomplish those once-in-a-lifetime dreams, that is until I read It’s Time to Kick the Bucket List by Joe Queenan, in the Wall Street Journal.

Queenan pointed out that creating a list of outlandish extremes has become one more competition in our already competitive North American culture: “parasail over volcanoes in Mongolia, swim with man-eating sharks in the Seychelles or slept in every farmhouse that George Washington ever bedded.”

And for what? Often just this: to say we have done it.

Completing bucket lists, Joe says, can never make up for a life lived without passion. And checking off those adventures can’t ever satisfy the need for feeling significant if we have failed to use our talents for the good of our communities, our businesses, and the world.

What if your bucket list looked like this:

  • Take pleasure in the mundane – the joy in a child’s smile, a hug from a friend, the delicious smell of rain after a hot day.
  • Be intentional in your choices and remember: To Not Decide Is To Decide
  • Don’t postpone adventure or pleasure. Do it now or at least some part of it now.
  • Don’t get distracted by glamour.
  • Don’t compare your list or your life with someone else’s.

I look forward to hearing YOUR conclusions.

Until next Tuesday,

Elizabeth

 

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