Why do we even need a 'bucket list'? Waiting until death is in our scope until we dare to live the way we always wanted to live - what's the reason in it all? We give some reason, like 'life is complicated', 'I have work to do', or some other excuse. But no matter the reason, life does not come our way because we don't put it first. It's good to be responsible, to be sure - but when work comes between us and living life to the fullest... It is too much. Often I find myself up to my neck in work, and wishing it were not so. Where is the time to spend with those I care about? Why am I a million miles from the people I care about most of all? Trying to 'achieve' and 'fulfill my potential' - sometimes it feels superficial. So what if I achieve all that I can achieve? What is any of it worth if, in the end, I am alone? If I have told no one I love that I loved them - and told them how much I loved them??
It bothers me that people (including myself) live so casually. As if tomorrow is a guarantee... Only those who have had terminal illnesses (especially those who survive) can appreciate this idea fully. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. A fire in my house could burn me to death while I'm sleeping. I could die in a car accident. Any number of things! I don't mean to be morbid, but not all deaths give us warning. Life is short - and time is always, always running out. Youth, in particular, gives the illusion that life lasts forever. But it doesn't. Yet we live as though we have all eternity to say what we should just say, do what we should just do. Why the procrastination? Do you think it will mean more in the midst of an important moment? Do you think it will mean more if you're near death, or in a dire situation? Love is meaningful not because it is expressed sparingly and lightly, but because it is expressed constantly and deeply.
The tendency of people to live such superficial lives bothers me. What really gets me is when they think their work will give them lives of meaning - which in some cases, can be very true. But where they might go wrong is stopping there. I can't stand workaholics. If you want to know why I'm not a better violinist than I am, it's because I can't stand to work my life away. There are much more important things to me than just practicing all the time. Life is short. Take advantage of every opportunity you want to take, and don't let life pass you by. Sure, you may have regrets - but at least they'll be regrets about daring to live, daring to love... Instead of regrets that you never took a chance in living, that you never took a chance in loving.
I think that is the point of a bucket list. You make a list that you wanna do or try so that you are living life more fully and are more open to more possibilities. And you work on everything that is there the rest of your life and then once you have done all those items you start a new list and keep going. Daring your self to live more. To be more than just work.
ReplyDeleteBut yes its true we do need to live like tomorrow may never come. For some that is what a bucket list is for. For others its doing the same routine that they have always done.