A bucket list is not a death wish; it’s a simple reminder to live life to the fullest.
When you turn 40, you start thinking about your mortality. A lot.
I hear a popular saying frequently among the 40+ set: We have more yesterdays behind us than tomorrows in front of us.
Yikes.
There are nights when I lie awake thinking about how one day I will no longer be on this Earth and that I will cease to exist. One day, I will no longer feel the grass beneath my feet or the sand between my toes, listen to the birds outside my patio, drink cold margaritas on a balmy day, have good sex, eat tacos, and breathe.
Although each day inches me closer to my last, I haven’t reckoned with death – the idea of it, the reality of it.
The birth of a “Living List”
My cousin died suddenly at 55, right before the global pandemic hit. He was the “fun” cousin in the family – loud, brash and the absolute life of the party. You’d find him at family gatherings clutching a beer in one hand and managing the grill with tongs in the other hand. He never showed up to a party empty-handed. He brought the party with him – plenty of jokes and stories, a massive cooler stuffed to the brim, and several racks of his famous, slow-cooked ribs wrapped in foil.
When my dad turned 50, he didn’t know he had only five years left on Earth, as he died unexpectedly at 55.
If I only had five years, how would I want to spend them?
- Watch my child graduate from high school.
- Spend two weeks in an overwater bungalow.
- Fly on a private jet.
- Write a book.
- Spend the night in a tiny house.
- Visit three continents (Africa, Australia, South America).
- Travel to all 50 states in the U.S.
- Drive along the coast of California in a convertible
- Go skiing
- Endow a scholarship
- Ride a horse
- Scuba dive
How do you want to spend your life, no matter how long you have left? What’s on your living bucket list? I’ve created one that I plan to continually add to remind myself to live a rich life while I’m here.
