Bucket List of Being
/You have often heard of creating a Bucket List – things you aspire to do, and many of them are out of the ordinary, spectacular things. What’s on your bucket list of things to do?
Or you may recall the movie “The Bucket List,” a film starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, in which they jump from planes, drive race cars, eat caviar, ride motorcycles on the Great Wall of China, and complete other extraordinary items on their list prior to “kicking the bucket.”
No wonder bucket lists are popular. It’s fun and exhilarating to dream and plan and be purposeful for unusual, extraordinary, thrill-of-a-lifetime moments. Maybe we even need to save and plan for the bucket list of “to do” activities.
What if, however, we change the Bucket List of Doing to the Bucket List of Being? I recently pondered and decided to come up with 5 things that I could do to just “be” for 5 minutes, for 15 minutes, and for 55 minutes. Moving from doing to being may be challenging…but it’s enlightening regarding how much we delight in the “doing.” Let’s brainstorm for a bit. What would your Bucket List of Being look like?
Bucket List of Being
5 minutes 15 minutes 55 minutes
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I decided to be very intentional about paying attention to “being” rather than “doing,” and my Bucket List of Being looked like this for the past week:
Bucket List of Being
5 Minutes: Listening to my breath
15 Minutes: Gazing at a flower/noticing specifics
55 Minutes: Sitting on the deck/listening
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5 Minutes: Feeling the presence of another
15 Minutes: Sipping a cup of tea
55 Minutes: Riding my bike with no particular destination
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5 Minutes: Savoring the moment
15 Minutes: Listen to a song list
55 Minutes: Letting go of a hurt and hod my palms open
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5 Minutes: Opening a new space in my heart that has been closed
15 Minutes: Taste a smoothie for all of its flavors
55 Minutes: Reflect on a thought or a scripture
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5 Minutes: Breathe in calm ... breathe out hurry
15 Minutes: Feel the sunshine
55 Minutes: Listen to a friend
If the list of 5 things for 5 minutes, 15 minutes and/or 55 minutes feels overwhelming for you, dump that overwhelmed bucket out and find one thing…one way of being that would be powerful for you. Begin the focus on being. May you be encouraged as you develop your Bucket List of Being.
The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.- James Allen
