WARNING: This is a very long post!!!
zsharer came across the article by Kalimullah Hassan as per title above in February 2008 and keep the hard copy somewhere in the piles of folders buried in the cabinet. Upon spring cleaning which is almost a decade later zsharer found the hard copy again and reading it give some points to wonder about zsharer own dream. zsharer used to dream to have a fruit orchard…. but never get the chance to put it into realisation because the land planned for this dream had been taken by the Government to build a housing area. Anyhow let get on with his article with a little of twist from zsharer 🙂
Martin Luther King Jr immortalised the phrase ” I have a dream ..” in his speech at a civil rights march in Washington more than 50 years ago. He said: “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the son of the former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
Like King, all of us have our own dreams.
Author Mark Twain said: “Twenty years from now you will be more dissapointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do”.
“So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
In childhood, we dream of becoming ice cream vendors to get the Cornettos for free; we dream of being firemen, wearing a spiffy uniform and saving people.
But dreams change. We grow older and we dream of becoming a doctor, lawyer, Chemistry teacher or an engineer and then the dream change again.
We dream of falling in love with the Physic teacher or the guy with the nice chiselled jawline in Form Five.
The dreams they keep changing until one day, without realising it, reality sinks in and the dreams are no more. A time comes when we just want to get over the next 24 hours, and then the next, and then …
Before you know it, you are 50, a half century is gone, and you start dreaming again. But the aching bones and the gradually increasing breathless tell you that the clock is ticking, and fast.
There is not much time left. Ten, maybe 20 good year, if you are lucky and after that, if you are not already plagued by ill health, every day is a bonus from Allah swt. zsharer mum died at 65 and dad at 79 so its true like Kalimullah said upon reaching 50 we should be aware we have less than 20 to 30 years left to do what we have to do to have a better life in this world and great life to the other side of world.
Sometimes, it takes a friend to remind you that life is not all about working and seeking wealth; sometimes, it takes a tragedy; and sometimes, the realisation just come after you have seen a movie or read a book.
In my case, the realisation has been sinking in the past few years and now with just weeks remaining before I hit that half-century mark, the urgency to fulfil dreams log forgotten becomes greater.
Bob Reiner’s movie, The Bucket List, which did not receive rave reviews despite the star cast of famous actor Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, made me think harder about the things that I would want to do before it’s too late.
To me it was a great movie. A little cliche maybe, but thought-provoking, nevertheless. Freeman plays Carter Chamber, a mechanic and Nicholson plays eccentric billionaires Edward Cole.
In Chambers’ freshman year, his philosophy professor suggested that his students composed a ‘bucket list’, a collection of all the things they wanted to do before they die (kick the bucket).
Chambers had his dreams of becoming a professor. There were others dream too – to be a millionaire. to be president of the United States,to climb Mount Everest and to visit the majestic sights of the world.
But he met a girl, married her, dropped out of college and became a mechanic. The dreams faded away as the realities of life sunk in. He read a lot and was a walking encyclopaedia.
But the children came, the days spent under the hood of cars prolonged from one day to another, and his dreams slipped further and further away.
One day at work, Chambers get a call from his doctor. He has cancer and has probably less than a year to live. His whole world collapses.
Cole, meanwhile, had been chairing a board meeting when he coughs blood and collapses. He, too, has cancer and may not live the year out.
Used to getting his way, like insisting that in all the hospitals he owns, no patient has a room to himself, Cole ends up having to share a room with Chambers.
Here we have two characters – a very rich businessman who has gone through many marriages and has daughter he has not seen many years, a mechanic who had to work long, tough hours to support a growing family.
In the hospital room, one day, Chambers draws up his bucket list – the things he wants to do in the six to twelve months before the big C claims him.
But after a while, knowing he has no time and no means to achieve his dreams, he squashes the list, throws it away and goes to sleep.
Cole comes across Chambers’ crumpled bucket list on the floor and reads it.
Chambers wakes up and is irritated to find his roommate reading his list.
Cole suggests that they draw up a joint bucket list and they try to do all the things they always wanted to do but never had the time (Cole) or money (Chambers).
After some persuasion, Chambers agrees. And with Cole’s wealth and private jet, the duo embark on a journey around the world, doing the things they never thought they would do if the doctors had not told them they were dying.
They skydive, they race fast cars, they visit exotic locales.
The most memorable line of that movies was when Nicholson give his take on what life is all about:”We live, we die and the wheels on the bus go round and round …. May be that’s an ironic way of looking at life but as one reviewer of the movie said: “Having sat through the movies, we can now appreciate the sentiment in that statement for the wisdom that it is”.
The movie may not be a hit but I liked it. There are scenes where you feel a lump in your throat; there are scenes where the dialogue evokes a warm glow inside you.
I have been thinking of my bucket list since I saw the movie. I don’t want to wait until a doctor says to me “I am sorry sir, but your test results …
zsharer have not seen this movie yet but Morgan Freeman is an actor that zsharer like since watching him in ‘Shawshank Redemption” so bucket list it go….
