We know about our past and our present, but have you ever seriously thought about what you want to do before you die?
I recently attended the Creating Leadership Amongst Youth (CLAY) conference at McMaster University as a group leader. Among the keynote speakers were four guys from Victoria, B.C., better known as The Buried Life, who are trying to complete a list of 100 things they want to do before they die.
For every item they cross off of their list, Jonnie, Ben, Duncan and Dave encourage and help others to complete a task on their own lists.
Before CLAY started, we were encouraged to send a few items from our own lists to The Buried Life. During their keynote, they talked about one of the goals of another leader, which was to plant a tree. So, the guys bought a tree and, after getting permission from McMaster, planted it on campus.
This is only one instance of how the guys have helped countless others since they started The Buried Life in 2006 and it’s certainly not the last, with another tour and an MTV show in the works for this year.
The guys from The Buried Life agreed to answer a few questions for me once the conference wrapped up.
L-R: Jonnie Penn, Ben Nemtin, Duncan Penn and Dave Lingwood
Q. Why do you believe a “Things to Do Before I Die” list would be advantageous to university/college students and recent graduates?
A. Thinking about death gives you to an enlightening glimpse into some very personal and very important issues. It lets you think about life as a finite resource - which makes it a thing worth celebrating - and gives you the advantage of prioritization: i.e. what’s most important to me in my life? It could be family, fortune, big crazy goals, modest local goals… anything. The point is, from there you can lay out your goals and dreams and ambitions and then go out and have some fun knowing that you have them organized in your back pocket. Some people don’t enjoy that sorta clarity til much later in life.
Q. What do you want to do now that some of you have graduated and the rest are still taking classes? Do you think it is possible for The Buried Life to become a full-time job?
A. #11 [graduate university] is still a few more steps from being crossed off…we’re taking our time to try to make the most of it (while we balance everything that’s going on with TBL). It could become a full time job down the road. Anything is possible, right?
Q. What do you think is essential for all post-secondary students to do while completing their education?
A. Have fun, work hard and question everything. Question what you’re doing now, what you want to do, what you’re asked to do, why you’re asked to do it - everything. The point of university is to evaluate society and improve on it. It’s a hell of an opportunity.
Q. When is your MTV program going to premiere? Is it going to be broadcast on Canadian and well as American and International Networks? If so, what do you think this will do for TBL and your message?
A. The short answer is: this fall, yup - all around the world and it’ll help get the philosophy in front of the people who could stand to benefit from it most. The goal from Day 1 has always been to spark conversation, especially among our friends and our generation. A lot of those people are watching MTV, so it’ll be cool to see how the message goes through.
It took about three weeks for me to finish my list of the 100 things I want to do before I die. It’s a lot more difficult than you’d think. I’m glad I finally finished, though, because not only do I have something to share with other CLAY attendees, but I have also set some goals for the next 40 years or so (hopefully a conservative estimate). I think everyone should have a list like this, so you can use it as a means to start planning the rest of your life.
What do you want to do before you die?
The same article was also posted on the MSU's News Website: https://www.msumcmaster.ca/news/msuNews.htm
ReplyDelete