In early 2009, a friend asked me what I had on my bucket list. I, of course, had no idea what she was talking about, I tended to live in the world of guns and nothing else so had never heard that term. She patiently explained how some people have a list of things that they wanted to do before they die. Things to do? My list at the that time was of things I wanted to own. A month or so later, I'd revised my list as best I could based on what she'd told me, that in her mind the list should be of things to accomplish rather than just have. I did not do a great job, there were still some possessions but also some places I wanted to see. My friend again talked about the importance of goals in life and what she thought they should mean. To her, a goal on one's bucket list wasn't to own another wristwatch or motor vehicle. While she has had no contact with me since then (a smart lady who knows crazy people are strange), I often think about what she attempted to teach me.

It seems to me now that a bucket list reveals a great deal about the person who wrote it - I was wanting things, then a slow shift toward a few experiences which I have since been able to do. At present, I really have no list, it is more some intangible goals that would have seemed stupid to me a few years ago, a focus on inward quality rather than outward quantity. These days, I'd like to have Jesus Christ with me always, let my friends and family know how much I value them, appreciate seeing an elk grazing in the mountains, laugh at being caught in the rain while riding a motorcycle.

Those are things worthy of my bucket list. I've already seen all the places, shot all the guns, owned all the toys. All that past list taught me was how shallow a life I had been attempting to live. Thank you, my friend, for this lesson. I may have finally learned it. I know you will likely never see this but if you do, then at least you will know that I have tried to pass it along to a few others. I hope you are having a wonderful life.