I love this dichotomy of two different ideas found in Stoic Philosophy: memento mori and memento vivere. The relationship between remembering to live by remembering you’re going to die inspires me to appreciate each day by living intentionally, pursuing dreams, and creating my ideal life knowing I’m not guaranteed tomorrow. 

By the time I graduated college, I had attended almost two dozen funerals for people close in my life who I lost to illness, accident, suicide, and even murder. I walked in on someone hanging himself in a public bathroom. I have a really close friend who lost a beautiful baby not long after I held her for the first and only time. I lost a wife to breast cancer and my son lost his Mama when he was just 2 years old. I’m all too familiar with the fragility of life. 

With the constant theme of loss, I had the option to choose one of two paths that presented themselves: I could be angry and fear death or I could be inspired by it and embrace life. I distinctly remember being twelve years old at one of those funerals for a really close family friend, yet I wasn’t showing much by way of sad emotions. Someone came up to me and assured me it’s ok to be sad and it’s not “unmanly ” to cry. Sure I felt sadness this person wouldn’t be around anymore, but in my twelve-year-old mind, it made more sense to focus on their life and the happy memories made, rather than dwell on the loss. Being sad wouldn’t bring them back. But being happy about their life was a way to honor it!

Growing up, there was a show on MTV called The Buried Life. Four guys created a Bucket List and set out to check items off their list, no matter how simple or absurd they were. This show was a lightbulb moment for me that I had the power to chase wild dreams and massive goals in my life; I just needed to give myself the permission and the opportunities to do so. 

As part of a college project in one of my Disney University classes where I attended during my internship program at Disney World, I was assigned to create my own bucket list. (I now call it my Memento Vivere List) Dreaming up my own list helped me visualize what I wanted to do in life. Writing down my list helped me follow-through on actually doing those things!

Can you help me check something off my list? 

What’s on your list?

1) Shoot a hole-in-one
2) Finish a triathlon
3) Go deep sea fishing
4) Learn to drive stick shift
5) Go hunting
6) Cut down a tree with just an ax
7) Drink with a celebrity
8) Learn to kite board
9) Polar Plunge
10) Get married
11) Donate blood
12) Graffiti something
13) Raise a puppy
14) Get a tattoo
15) See the Northern Lights
16) Go on a picnic
17) Successfully grow my own vegetables & herbs
18) Crowd surf at a concert
19) Scuba dive a shipwreck
20) Run a marathon
21) Write a book
22) Volunteer for an entire day
23) Be in a movie
24) Blow my own glass
25) Cut the ribbon at a Grand Opening with big scissors
26) Run the Hancock Building stairs charity run
27) Save someone’s life
28) Century bike ride
29) Be part of a protest/rally
30) Attend a ‘red-carpet’ event
31) African Safari
32) Ride a uni-cycle
33) Drive 100mph
34) Bungee Jump in New Zealand
35) Donate a large amount of money to charity
36) Complete a 40,000 piece jigsaw puzzle
37) Attend a major film festival
38) Smoke weed legally
39) Read the Bible cover-to-cover
40) Give a commencement speech at a college graduation
41) Build something practical with my own hands
42) Use a media credential at an event
43) Drink Pappy Van Winkle
44) Become a Disney World Castmember
45) Complete an entire coloring book cover to cover
46) Police ride-along
47) Crash a wedding
48) Go vegetarian for a month
49) Own a waterfront home
50) Homebrew beer
51) Officiate a wedding
52) Sit behind home plate at an MLB game
53) Hot air balloon ride
54) Fly in a private jet
55) Set a Guinness World Record
56) Throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game

I’m on my own constant journey remembering to live each day. I’m inviting you to join me while you trek along on your own journey figuring out for yourself what it means to truly live the life you want by following your heart, chasing your own dreams, and creating your ideal life. Don’t forget to truly appreciate the little things along the way, as well.

Memento Vivere.