Bucket list

CEBU, Philippines – The term "bucket list" has long been used by many in the 70's or even earlier before Facebook or Tweeter or Instagram. Many might just have encountered the word in the Jack Nicholson-Morgan Freeman movie, in 2007, where two terminally ill guys went on a road trip to fulfill their life dreams before they "kick the proverbial bucket." US President Barack Obama also once said after visiting the Stonehenge Monuments: "[Now] I can remove it from my Bucket List."

A bucket list is a list of things that one wants to do before dying or simply a "list of things to do before death"… Do you have a bucket list? There must be some things you want to try in this lifetime. It could range from the mundane to the exotic, from the casual to the epic, the highly elusive and improbable, the dubious… even crazy!  It may be something that you want to do with someone or a special group, or something you can do all by yourself.

Life is short. If there have been things you want to do, to see, to taste, to feel, experience and enjoy, find the time and make the effort for it. Give yourself a timeframe - a day, a month, year, a decade. List them down. The trip is always easier when you have a road map.

Mind you, if it's just in your head, it could drift, wander off and disappear altogether. Get it down in writing. Make your bucket list:

1.Get a journal. Walk around with it at hand. Bring it when you travel, bring it to work, to school, to a mall or party. Get one that's handy but durable, could withstand ink blots, could survive a bit of drenching and the kind that would easily dry up when it gets wet accidentally.

I got mine a few years back. It was a gift with my name embossed on the cover. Mine probably looked scruffy and tattered now but it still served its purpose with a hundred or so blank pages waiting to be filled up.

2.List down what you want to do. To begin with, write down a few things and work from there. It's best to begin with those that are easier to accomplish. Even simple tasks like, say, a quick walk to the cemetery to visit the grave of a dear departed. Or dance in the rain, if it's something you've been wanting to do.

3.Be realistic yet creative. Let loose your imagination and explore possibilities. Your list may not be as specific as "a tour in the Louvre"; it may just be something as general as "see something awesome and spectacular." Reach for the stars, but keep your feet on the ground.

4.Focus on your own list. You may have seen other people's list, but remember - this is not about their dreams but yours!

5. Review your list from time to time. Make your bucket list serve as a guideline to improve yourself, aside of course from using it to fill up your life. In that case, you need to add or take out something along the way. It's okay to scrap off an item because it's just too risky or costly; you decide.

When is the right time to start? Again, you decide. Anytime is the best time, whenever it feels right to you. Follow the leading of your own heart. It's not a race; you don't need to get on the bandwagon when friends are trying to outdo one another in doing their thing.

I am always guided by what my boss constantly reminds us at the office: "In whatever  you do, put your mind, heart and your whole self into the task."