The Bucket List

Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) were two people from totally different walks of life, brought together by cancer. Cole was the owner of a hospital network, while Chambers lived his days as a mechanic who memorised trivia.

As fate would have it, Cole and Chambers end up in the same hospital room while they receive chemo treatment. Both have been given about six months to live. Over time, they slowly open up to each other, sharing insights to each other’s lives.

Chambers reveals a list he wrote as a child, detailing what he wanted to do with his life before he “kicked the bucket” (hence The Bucket List). Cole comes across this list and encourages Chambers to pursue these ambitions, as well as add more. After both regain some of their strength, they face the world, “bucket list” in hand.

Their adventures take them far beyond anything they had ever done before— from skydiving to car racing, from the African plains to the pyramids of Egypt. They are determined to make the most of the last few months they have alive.

While sitting atop a ruin, Chambers brings up an Egyptian view of death—that when one gets to heaven, one was asked two questions, “Have you found joy in your life?” and “Has your joy brought joy to others?” It’s amazing how bad experiences in life can hold us back from truly experiencing “real life.” It’s only when we find ourselves in the midst of calamity that we try and live right and make the most of the time we have.

Their adventures stall when they encounter bad weather on their trek up Mt Everest. After a stop in Hong Kong, they decide to return home. Chambers returns to his family and Cole to his rich, lonely life. Chambers realises how rich his life really is and Cole, how empty his really was.
However, tragedy strikes again when Chambers collapses in his bedroom. He eventually “kicks the bucket” but does so knowing he lived the best he possibly could.

In a farewell letter, Chambers’ last request of Cole is to “find the joy in your life.” But the unfinished business remains. Cole picks up where Chambers left off on the list, until both finally come to their resting place at the top of the mountain, where they “witness something truly majestic.” So what would you do now if you knew the exact moment when you would die? What if that moment was soon? Would you live any differently? Would some things seem more important than others? God has given us our every moment, every breath, every day.

And He gave it to us as a gift we should cherish and not waste. He has provided us with everything we could ever want or need, and all He asks in return is a little bit of us. This little bit, so many of us are reluctant to give up. God has so many amazing things planned for our lives that we only need give it to Him for life to become truly amazing. Then we can experience “real life.” It brings up a common quote: “Everybody dies but not everybody truly lives.” Even in Lord of the Rings, Gandolf the Grey said to Frodo, “We do not know what is going to happen. All we can do is make the most of the time we’ve been given.” What will you do with the moments God has given you?