His Bucket List

Around lunch time today, I went to the Student Center to get a quick lunch and read a bit. I sat down at a table by myself, next to a group of 4 men who appeared to be professors. Since the tables are barely 2 feet apart and the men were talking loudly, it was impossible for me to not hear what they were saying. From the sounds of their conversation and the constant mention of basketball scholarships and the tournaments coming up, I guessed that they were part of the SLM program at ECSU.

One of the men began to talk about how he recently went to the movies to see The Bucket List because his two favorite actors were the main characters. He was talking and laughing about how the idea for the movie was clever and that the men played the parts very well.

The man who appeared to be the oldest (probably approaching 70 years old) suddenly broke up the discussion about the movie and stated that he wouldn't be traveling with the basketball team on some of their weekend trips. The others at the table kind of looked at him with that "okay, what does that have to do with the current conversation" look. He then went on to say that he wasn't sure when he would kick the bucket, or when his wife would, for that matter. He said it so matter of factly, with a smirk on his face and no fear in his eyes. He said that he would find much more joy in spending a day with his wife at home then traveling to the game. The look on his face made it seem as though this was some sort of epiphany, something he hadn't given much thought to before.

The other men still seemed a bit confused by his statement, but this didn't stop the oldest man from continuing. "Ya know, when you get older, you start thinking about whether or not you can answer yes to the two most important questions of life: Did you bring joy to other people? And were you able to find joy yourself?"

I was so taken back by his bold statements and the passion he showed in talking to these somewhat younger men as though he was trying to teach them a lesson. None of the other three men said much and just looked around at each other. A bit later, the youngest man brought up some news that he had recently heard about Harvard baseball and the scholarships that they were offering.

The conversation quickly returned back to sports discussion, but the oldest man had checked out for a bit and just sat with a smile on his face.

It was so wonderful to hear such an experienced, wise man verbalize his realization and take a casual conversation about a movie up to a level that none of the others expected. They had laughed about the movie and the idea of it, but he had given it thought and made a decision about his life in those few seconds.

So.. if those are in fact the two questions to answer yes to in life.. are you bringing joy to others and finding joy yourself?