I watched a movie on the fourth of July called The Bucket List and it spurred a few thoughts that make a great topic to share with you.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, briefly it’s about two men around the age of 70 who both develop cancer and the journey they share together before dying.
I read several reviews about The Bucket List on the Internet and I was really surprised at how negative they were. Granted, it wasn’t the greatest movie ever made and I agreed with some of the comments like perhaps we’re all growing tired of movies that open with a Morgan Freeman voice over. Personally, I thought the movie started out a little slow and the comedy was rather dry. The characters were rather mundane, not over the top like most movie characters and I thought it fit better in the Drama genre, but it was listed as a comedy.
However, I thought it had a few redeeming qualities as well. After a short while I began to appreciate the relationship of the two men and the journey they were on. By the end of the movie I had cried and it had stirred a great deal of thought that I pondered for a couple days. Anytime a movie makes me think and question life, I consider it a good movie. It wasn’t so much the movie that was really good, it was the messages that it carried.
The Bucket List had several messages that are important for anyone, but for those of us living with chronic illness or a chronic health condition I thought they also work well as motivation for living life more fully.
The main messages that were contained in the movie were:
- Life is short and fragile
- Keep in mind what’s most important to you
- You never know how much time you have
- Money doesn’t mean anything in the end if you don’t have love
- Count your blessings
The movie also posed several very good questions like:
- Are you making a contribution to the world?
- If so, is it the contribution you want to be making?
- Are you living the life you want to be living?
- Do you have any regrets?
- Are you doing what you want to be doing?
- Are you loving enough?
- What would you do if you knew you were going to die in three months?
When the movie was over, it caused me to examine my life and I found myself wondering what I would have on my bucket list. I didn’t particularly like some of the items that were contained in the movies bucket list because I thought several of them seemed materialistic, however towards the end of the movie there were some more meaningful ones that really struck a chord like “laugh until you cry.”
I’m the type of person who really enjoys and values the simple things in life and after I thought it over here’s a few of the things I decided would be on my bucket list.
- Hug my son as often as possible
- Make wild passionate love
- Spend time with nature.
- Eat something delicious like Stonyfield’s Organic Creme Caramel Ice Cream
- Watch the sunset and the sunrise
- Take a trip to the lake and the ocean
Why do I think the messages in The Bucket List are so important? Because when you live with chronic illness or a chronic health condition, it’s so easy to get caught up in all the details of dealing with your health on a daily basis that you forget to focus on “living.”
Many people stay so focused on trying to find a cure or relieve the symptoms of the day that “life” just passes them by. A cure may not happen, or when it does, it may take time, so it’s crucial that you continue to live life as completely as possible even though you may be suffering greatly. Don’t let your symptoms or your limits keep you from enjoying the life that you do have.
The most important message I felt The Bucket List conveyed was this:
“Live Life to the Very Last Minute”
So what about you, what would be on your bucket list?
