From Bucket Lists to Life Lists: Br Tony Encourages St Augustine’s Cairns Boarders to Explore Purpose and Impact

On 13 August, 52 senior boarders from St Augustine’s College, Cairns, gathered for an evening talk with Br Tony Leon, who spoke on the theme “This Life - Making good life choices for oneself and for others.”

Br Tony with the boarders

 Drawing inspiration from the film The Bucket List, Br Tony invited the boarders to create not a “bucket list” but a Life List - a vision of who they want to be and what they want to do to live a full and meaningful life. “Instead of thinking about what to do before you die, I asked them to think about what makes a life well-lived,” he explained.

After the students shared their dream lists with one another, Br Tony posed a simple but challenging question, “Did any of your dreams involve doing something for another person?” He noted that very few did, describing it as “a good wake-up call for us to think: who and what is my life about?”

The talk was also grounded in the Marist theme for 2024, “Pilgrims of Hope – Look Beyond.” As Br Tony said, “I wanted to encourage the students to look beyond themselves and even their lifetime, to consider what they can do and who they can be for others and for future generations.”

He shared a saying that struck a chord with the students: “When you pass away, what you did for yourself will die with you. However, what you did in this life for others will live on in others.”

To illustrate the message, Br Tony spoke of John Goddard, American explorer and traveller, who at 15 years old wrote down 127 life goals and went on to achieve 111 of them. His determination, Br Tony suggested, shows the power of making intentional choices.

Reflecting on the evening, Br Tony said the most rewarding part was seeing the enthusiasm of the boarders. “My favourite moment was witnessing the energy and hope of the students as they talked about their future years. It was inspiring to see them dream big,” he said.