Numbers 4 and 5 on the bucket list were: Bring joy to others and; have joy in my life. I think these two goals, or life ambitions, are inseparable. Ifs pretty hard to live a joyless life and have any joy to bring to others. Conversely, if one’s own bucket is full of joy, it is easy to splash dippers of joy all over the surrounding people. Joy is a thing that just spills out, so I don’t think there’s any point in hypothesizing a miserly person who keeps all their joy to themselves. Real Joy spills out.

I do think it is possible for a joyless soul to try hard to conjure up a false joy by dedicating themselves ceaselessly to others. In this case one’s joy, or mood, is dependent on the response or lack thereof in the receiving party. Real joy is not dependent on something as fragile as mood or response; nor is it synonymous with happiness or laughter – though I would like plenty of those in my life also.

OK, I’m off to gather a bucketful of joy so I can splash it liberally on others!