Before I Kick the Bucket

With each passing year, I find myself more focused on the end. It frustrates me to know what I do not know. When I face the end of my life, I have no way of knowing when, my condition, or what will remain unaccomplished. With the unknown before me, I find myself constantly readjusting my bucket list. Once upon a time, I could have listed a hundred or so things I wanted to accomplish before the final curtain. Now, the list is much smaller and is defined by some overarching themes.

I want a life lived collecting experiences, not things. As hard as I try, my desire to accumulate more and more stuff will never retire. I have gotten better at impulse buying and much better at saving/working toward an opportunity to collect moments in time that satisfy a much bigger hunger.

I also want a life defined by the people around me. More than the things I have collected, I remember the long road trips, conversations deep into the night, moments sitting around a kitchen table lost in laughter, or debating some piece of news. These are the moments in time I truly cherish. I believe these are the moments that will matter to me most in the end.

With these two guiding rules, I created a bucket list for today. Priorities and interests will change, but as of today, these are the pursuits I most deeply desire and meet the criteria I have set for myself.