Buckets

Bucket Lists that is. The concept seems pretty damned controlling, over careful, painstakingly anal AND morbid even.

Granted, I really do understand -- we can all get so caught up in our day to day slog that we miss out on some pretty awesome life. So, creating a Bucket List is just a way to remember the bigger picture?

Coming in at number one on the UK Daily Mail’s survey of the top 50 things people want to do before they die is ‘become a millionaire.’ Is that a wish or is there a plan? Beyond investing in lottery tickets, that is. Also, is being wealthy an end in itself?

What does being a ‘millionaire’ mean to folks? Is it financial security -- knowing you’ll never need to worry about becoming homeless or how in god’s name you’ll ever be able to pay doctor/hospital bills or feed your kids? Does it mean being able to easily have/buy things like Beverly Hill’s mansions, 64 year old bottles of Macallan whiskey, vintage Led Zep concert Ts, gold trash cans  a la John Thain maybe? Does being a millionaire mean instant happiness?

Making the top ten on the Mail’s survey are: travel the world, see the Northern Lights, trek the Great Wall of China, hike the Inca Trail, pay off the mortgage, see the Egyptian Pyramids, visit Antarctica and invent something that changes lives.

 There are items on the list I totally get. Travel, writing, living somewhere new, being debt free, learning new things (surfing! another language! mountain climbing!), volunteering time to a worthy cause, inventing/creating. Then there are ones that make me want to scream -- such as, dine at a Michelin star restaurant (this came in at #23), stay a night at the world’s best hotel (#15), go to Harry Potter World in Florida (#47).

Is this really THE big life capping dream for you (or one of them anyway)? Get your head out of your ass and think big! Think wider than the limits of your pocketbook and television!

Maybe the Bucket List concept means different things to different people and I shouldn’t be so judgmental and bitchy (that could so happen!). It was my beloved Mary Ann who taught me to ‘have a life’ -- to go, explore, experience and enjoy. She just didn’t tell me that I needed to make a list and check things off as I went.

‘We are not walking a path, but surfing a sea.’ ~ Leo Babauta at Zen Habits
and
‘A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.’ ~Lao Tzu

If I was to create a list, what would be numero uno? Enjoy today. S'cuse me, I gotta go kiss The Amazing Bob now.