One of the more annoying ideas that keeps coming up as I get older is folks asking me about whether I have a bucket list? The first time I heard it my first thought was, “I have two buckets in my house, why do I need a bloody list?”.
Why is it so important in your life to have a list of things that you need to do, to feel you have lived a full and complete life? When did your life become “of value” only if you have a list of stupid things that you may or may not have time to do before you croak?
Evidently my life has not been well lived if I have not:
- Climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (or worse Mount Everest) (I climbed Mount Royal in Montreal does that count?)
- Run with the bulls in Pamplona (I did try cow tipping though)
- Surfed the Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii (not gonna happen)
- Put a padlock on the Pont de l’Archevêché ( think I have walked across that bridge once)
- Joined the mile high club (OK that one does sound intriguing to me, given I don’t fit in airline bathrooms when I want to use them as bathrooms)
- Got completely out of debt and saved enough for my retirement (OK that is me just messing with you).
I don’t get this whole need to have to do things to feel fulfilled (isn’t that called Work? Just sayin’). Can’t I just be happy with what I have done already, and the amazing things that might happen in the future?
You want to know what my bucket list is:
- Buy a nice bucket
- Don’t die
Simple ain’t it though? My hope is I won’t add to this list, and for now I have completed my bucket list.
Personally, I had a ‘Bucket List’ developed in my twenties and one of the oldest Boomers! Everything was magic! Without going into the details I was able to complete my original bucket list items in a relatively short period of time.
Maslow, a well respected physiologist came up his new ‘hierarchy of needs’ list for the human species. This is a great place to be AFTER you have completed your original bucket list OR maybe your not interested in such things, then go directly to the greatest test of them all i.e. to pursue Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ and hopefully, getting to the Top which is reaching your highest potential and achieving the level of self-actualization. This activity will naturally be more difficult because you might be starting in your later years, where there could be changes in your physical, mental, social and spirtual make-up.