What is on Your Bucket List?

If you like movies that make you both laugh and cry, Bucket List, with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman is a must see. The story revolves around two terminally ill patients sharing a hospital room. From the very beginning it is obvious they are the odd couple. The character portrayed by Nicholson owns the hospital. He has acquired financial success and is accustomed to having the very best life offers. Freeman’s character never got to pursue his dream of teaching history but instead works as an automobile mechanic. Whether looking for a comedy or a serious drama, this movie has a little bit of both. The acting is superb and the scenery is spectacular.
As a baby boomer who has lost a lot of friends and loved ones to death in the past few years, the meaning of this movie was not lost on me. No one knows when death will come to them. We only have this moment right now. As a Life Coach, www.margaretnortonlifecoach.com ,I am always amazed at people who remain in unhappy situations, many times because they fear change, waiting for something to happen. They are not happy now but think they will be as soon as they get that new job, new wife, new car or new whatever. They are missing out on one of the biggest secrets in life. Happiness is where you find it. Sometimes you do need to make a change but other times you just need to learn to be happy with what you have. More than anything else, happiness it is a state of mind.
In the movie it seemed that Freeman’s character always did the right thing. He worked hard and provided for his family. History was his passion. He was a walking encyclopedia. But for some reason he never got the degree needed to become a teacher. Life gets in the way. Sometimes we have to make choices which have nothing to do with our dreams. I think college does get more difficult as we get older. Perhaps he kept putting it off until he finally felt it was too late. Coming to terms with his pending death, he appeared to be angry that his life had not turned out as he wanted it to.
Nicholson’s character was also anger but for different reasons. In his quest for power and money, he had alienated the people in his life. It seemed he had always had everything he wanted and had always been in control. But he could not control the cancer, even though he owned the hospital. Certainly he could not stop his pending death. Life revolved around him. He had little regard for his fellow man. Confined to his hospital bed, detached from life as he knew it, he finally felt compassion for someone else.
In the movie they compose a bucket list of all the things they want to do before dying. Together they leave the hospital to embark upon this journey. Along the way, they both reconnect with their true feelings. Both realized it was family and love that mattered most. You might say their chance meeting saved both of their lives.
What is your dream? Are you living your dream or have your dreams been buried deep inside never to be remembered again? Or did you give up your dreams because life was just too hard? If you were facing death in the next six months would you be content with how you’ve lived your life? Or would you be filled with anger and regret? I believe God places dreams within each of us for a reason. It is never too late to pursue your dreams. Life gives us many chances to start over again, life a cat with nine lives.