Start your bucket list today

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I had lunch with a friend over the weekend that I hadn’t seen in years. She was so excited to see all of my photos from the crazy places I’ve been since we’ve last been together. As she swiped photo after photo on my tablet, she made comments about so many of them. This place looks so intriguing, that place looks so far off the beaten track, this beach is the best. When she was done, she slowly put the tablet on the table and gave me a funny look. Then she asked me a question I never saw coming. “What are you going to do when you’ve crossed everything off your bucket list?” Uhm, what?! Hold on a minute, who said anything about a bucket list? Bucket lists are for the end of a book. I view what I’m doing as the start of a new chapter. I’m no longer a parent, I’m trying to figure out who I am as an adult. And in order to do that, I’m exploring the world – literally. Okay, okay, I know. Once a parent, always a parent. Just because my child is an adult in his own right doesn’t mean I wouldn’t drop everything if he, God forbid, needed me. But I have set myself in a place where I have few, if any responsibilities. No mortgage, no car payment, no debt. The world is my home now and I’m having a blast. I’ve said it before, I can’t understand why everyone puts priorities in a certain order so as to never be able to relax and enjoy life in each moment as it comes. Or at least it seems that way – they don’t call it the ‘rat race’ for nothing you know. Do you really need the biggest house in town? The newest car? The biggest salary that goes with the super long hours spent in the office? Or can you do with less of everything so you can go to the Philippines this year? Or Greece? Or Belize? Or wherever? Are things more important than experiencing life? Even if all you can do is go to the next state – go – do – live. Tomorrow isn’t promised, only today is. I tried to explain this to my friend but she only shook her head. No, she's too invested in her job, her mortgage, her car payment, her life as is. She ended by saying I was the lucky one to be able to travel. No, not luck. I had the courage to change my life even when it looked like everything was going wrong. The trick is to not be afraid of changes - even big ones which look like disasters can be the best thing in the end. So take the leap into something new...

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