Why I Don’t Need a Bucket List

I do admit, it would have been exciting to post pictures from a cruise ship or European castle on last week’s mention of our 55^th anniversary. It’s not that I don’t want these adventures—it’s just that I can wait for them. There is no experience now that will not be exceedingly better in my future. So I can wait.

I can wait to scale Mount Everest without laboring breath and throbbing knees. One day I will look into the Grand Canyon without anxiety and walk down its walls of sandstone, limestone, and shale, then climb up the other side, stopping to pet bighorn sheep and elk. I will explore the Great Barrier Reef, all 2,900 reefs and 900 islands, and dive deep to discover the wonders it holds, without tiring—and without gear. I will walk desert sands unhindered by the sun, explore caverns with underground rivers, and climb a sequoia. I will slide down Victoria Falls and ride on the backs of lions and elephants. I will wander through the Swiss Alps and watch the Northern Lights dance across Norway’s sky, counting the stars—perhaps I’ll fly through them!

And if these natural wonders are not on the new earth, it will only be because they’re replaced with vistas even more wonderful! Pictures of the sights I admire today will pale like black and white newsprint on yellowed newspapers. Colors will explode in shades never before seen. Sounds will mesmerize with unmuted clarity. The air will shimmer with its purity.

No, I don’t need a bucket list for my span of years on this planet. Wonders await me for an eternal lifetime of exploration and discovery.

Photo by Donald Giannatti on Unsplash