The new year is well under way and I trust we all managed to stay clear of those pesky New Year’s Resolutions – a list which leaves us with nearly certain regret. 

Today I would like to talk about a different kind of list, the Bucket List. As you likely know, the Bucket List represents goals for what one wants to see or do before ‘kicking the bucket.’ This phrase, which is a euphemism for death, may seem morbid but is actually most often used as a means of motivating one to live life to the fullest and as a reminder of how fleeting life may be. 

Bucket Lists include doing things like the following:

• See the sunrise from the top of Diamond Head (ahem…note the featured picture, it was spectacular!)
• Have dinner at a 5-star restaurant
• Go on a missions trip
• See an actual Broadway production
• Experience the historic architecture of Paris, France
• Climb Machu Picchu

The Bucket List is generally understood to represent our life accomplishments, our DOings. However, I can’t help but wonder if the Bucket List of our life experience is really the right approach. Oh, I think these items are okay, but does this list really represent our most coveted accomplishments? 

What about the deeper qualities of life? Shouldn’t there be a place, perhaps a list, of the character qualities we want to exhibit in our lives – who we really want to be? After all, we are not human doings, we are human BEings.

Now please hear me, I am not saying there is anything wrong with having a Bucket List. In fact, I have one myself. I’m just saying we maybe should add another list to our notebook, and maybe this list should take priority. 

Why do we have lists of activities we want to experience but rarely talk about the qualities of the person we want to be. Why do we invest time and energy yearning for places to visit and experiences to have, yet spend comparatively little time and energy on developing the person we want others to experience.

I always think it’s interesting to visit famous places and see little carvings or etchings of initials people have left behind. We humans instinctively want to leave our mark on the world. Even in these small ways, people want to leave evidence that they have existed, they were ‘here.’ We all want to leave a legacy. Yet our most profound opportunity to leave a mark on the world for all time and for future generations is to develop our character and sow into the lives of others.

I submit to you that our BEing in this life means more than the sum total of our DOing in this life. Our personal attributes, character and principles have a much greater impact on those around us than we may initially realize. Certainly our experiences impact who we are, but the mark our character and actions have on the world and those around us is a much more indelible mark than the scratch we could possibly leave on the places we visit.

So, I ask you, “Who do you want to BE?” What do you want people to say about you when you have kicked the proverbial bucket? This BE List may seem a lot less exciting, but it will yield a much better return on your investment of time and energy. It will most certainly be a more powerful legacy to leave those around you. When you pass from this earthly life, do you want people to just be glad you’re gone or do you want people to say that the world was a much better place because you were in it? 

Take some time today to start your BE List. I think I’ll revisit mine too!