Birthday Revelations

Used to dread birthdays! Even before moving to the US and finding that it always fell on or around Thanksgiving. That poor skinned turkey on the table always took center stage over me and I was not pleased. Really it was a bit more complicated and traumatizing than me being jealous of a stuffed dead bird but that’s another story.  It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I had a revelation about birthdays! It dawned on me that it was never supposed to be about the cake or whether someone remembered to wish me or not, or if someone cared to plan a party or not but mostly it was never supposed to be a test for the people in my life to prove that they cared about me or not. Gosh!! Birthdays! How on earth did I ever manage to miss the entire point of it for so many years!!?

See there is valid reason why it’s a tradition to celebrate the day you know! Birthdays should be some of the most memorable days of our lives after all because it’s the day when you have to stop to realize first and foremost that you are truly actually alive and breathing ….translates as there is a whole world and an entire life of infinite possibilities still available for you. It’s about taking the time to stop to honor the milestone of a year that has passed-what an absolute privilege it is to be here right? It’s the time to acknowledge with all your heart all your blessings and accomplishments throughout the year; it’s about showing your gratitude to the universe for all of it-perhaps health, family, friends, your career, living in a land with peace and no war…that list we take for granted no matter who we are and where we live is always longer than we can see in reality….but don’t forget also to recall if you took the time to give anything back that was positive too-you know you probably did whether intentionally or not-even just by smiling at a random passer-by; So go ahead and celebrate you too! The universe obviously thinks you’re all that right?

I now grasp that birthdays are even about envisioning new dreams and planning new resolutions for the coming year and for praying that you will have the opportunity again to see it all through. Once I finally understood the true meaning of birthdays my heart rejoiced so naturally so completely that I needed to share its magic with everyone….after all there is so much on my list…my heart is jumping for joy for everything that the year has brought and even tingling with excitement from the mysterious promises of the future. It makes sense now why there is a cake or parties as an afterthought for such a fantastic occasion. Do celebrate birthdays- not just the day but the entire week in fact to reflect upon those blessings and thank everyone in your life for being there and laugh with them, give them a big hug and maybe find more ways to give something back into the universe which so generously bestows these gifts upon us even when we take so much of it for granted so often. Voila! On that note I am so ready to bask in the glory of my 40^th birthday this week!! YIPPEEE-YAY!! Happy Birthday and Happy Un-Birthday to all of us-today here and now! Why the heck not!!