Bucket List

I used to have a bucket list of things I wanted to do and places I wanted to go, but my bucket list has changed. It now contains three entries:

Love unconditionally
Surrender to God’s Will
Live in the Present Moment

Paradoxically, it is by consistently reaching for these goals that I am being taken to the places and doing the things that were on my original bucket list. I emphasize “reaching” because, unlike a list of to-do’s, I never seem to completely finish loving unconditionally, surrendering or living in every present moment.

I re-examined the whole bucket list concept only because a friend of my daughter’s recently asked me what was left on mine. It gave me pause to think that although I am presently living one of my all-time biggest dreams, I had not done anything specific toward accomplishing this goal. What I had done was actively and consistently surrender to God’s Will. The story is in my book, Everyday Mystic, so I won’t retell it here. What is not in my book is what happened after I moved from southeastern Connecticut to northwestern Connecticut and how that led to a life in the Caribbean.

I will continue to reach for my three goals and in so doing trust that the life that follows will fulfill or exceed my wildest dreams.  Perhaps it is time for each of us to re-evaluate the concept of a bucket list by shifting our focus from what we want to do to who we want to become.

Further reading on Unconditional Love, Surrender and Staying Present:

New Year’s Resolution: Love Yourself as God Loves You
The Joy of Surrender
One Small Step

Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash