The life list
By Lisa Nicklanovich; courtesy photo
Is riding in a hot air balloon on your life list? How about proposing in one? Castle Pines resident Jeremy Gamble proposed to his childhood neighbor Nikki Tobey in the sky above Erie, Colorado. Having a life list of dreams and aspirations to experience in your lifetime means you have memorable moments like this one. She said yes.
Go on an African safari, skydive, stroll the Cinque Terre, or write a novel…most people have life goals or wishes for the future. Collecting a list of goals, dreams and aspirations one would like to experience in their lifetime is a life list. Some may call it their bucket list.
The New Year is the perfect opportunity to think about what really is important to experience or accomplish in a lifetime.
Whether you choose to write down your life list in a notebook, type it into an Excel spreadsheet, or use one of the many phone apps or online life list websites, documenting it somewhere brings completion one step closer to reality. Maybe you prefer to keep your life list to yourself, but sharing it makes you a bit more accountable. Communities of people on bucketlist.org, bucketlist.net, and the iWish app share their life’s ambitions with each other, chronicle their journeys, and inspire and encourage each other. After seeing someone accomplish their goal of swimming with beluga whales in Canada, you may decide to add that to your list.
If you have always wanted to perfect a loaf of homemade sourdough bread or make a quilt and you accomplished that in 2020, congratulations! If sleeping in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora or going to a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre is on your list, then you probably will have to wait a little longer. But there is nothing stopping you from starting the planning.
Susan Brennan, Castle Pines resident of 31 years said, “During the lockdown this spring, my husband and I thought long and hard about the one thing we wanted to do before we died. We bet that there would be a future for us after the pandemic and bravely booked a big trip to Australia and New Zealand. At first, we thought we could go in February 2021. It soon became obvious that February 2022 was the safer option. Having that trip booked has brightened our endless days of isolation.”
Another neighbor is holding on to the Kenny Chesney tickets she bought in 2019. “The 2020 concert was postponed and if it happens in 2021, I will be there and I even have my outfit picked out!” she exclaimed.
Start small and dream big. Hiking a new trail and running a marathon can both be on your list. Taking a wine class and becoming a sommelier may be more your speed. 2021 is a year of hope. Making a life list is a way to feel full of optimism about the rest of your life.
