F*ck the Bucket List for the Adventurer

Author Paulo Coelho observes that, when we walk in a forest, we’ll experience many different trees along the path. No two leaves on hundreds of trees are alike. And no two journeys, along the path, are alike. In his book, The Alchemist, he writes, “We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”

Much can shift when you realize that no one has your answers, no matter how hard that person tries to convince you. While we’re all connected more than we realize, each of us is here to learn our own lessons and experience our own journey. This can be a time of deep questioning and self-awareness for you, as no one can know what makes you tick better than yourself.

RECEIVING AN EDUCATION FROM LIFE ITSELF

English writer and philosopher, Aldous Huxley, left us a lot to reflect on in his book, A Brave New World, regarding his philosophies on our collective responsibility to the planet. Huxley feared a society that would give us so much choice that we would be reduced to passivity and egotism, and that the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. His body of work is a constant reminder that changing the world is a bit of an arrogant belief to uphold, as our real job may be simpler. He shared, “I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.”

We live in interesting times. We give more value and emphasis on the latest trends and keeping up with technology, frantically purchasing state-of-the-art gadgets and apps that are flooding the markets at ever-increasing speeds. Innovation is all around us, and yet too many dream that their innovative solution will make them rich and successful. And with recent global events, many just want a way to support our lifestyle, not always questioning whether we’re aware of what we really need (our enough) so we can have whatever lifestyle that supports us instead. One day, we may wake up to the fact that we’ve been treating what is scarce—like natural resources—with a mindset of abundance, and what is abundant—like opportunities to create and connect—with a mindset of scarcity. No wonder it’s challenging to be a young person today. No wonder our world is fragmenting. We have created unspoken assumptions that govern how we live.