Go Ahead, Celebrate Your Birthday!
My friend recently had a birthday and it got me thinking…We don’t always celebrate our birthdays the way we should. Birthdays, for many, are just another day. You know what I mean, you have heard it, “Oh, yeah, it’s my birthday, who cares it’s just another day.” I have been guilty of this as well. But you know what? NO. It’s not just another day. It is a day that we chose to be born to our selected parents. It is a day we should celebrate intrinsically.
Do you realize all the stuff we have had to go through to get to where we are?
| We had to deal with: |
|---|
| Communicating purely through emotions |
| Crying while still looking cute, which isn't easy (that does NOT happen as an adult) |
| Dragging our bodies across the floor like we don't have legs |
| Food dribbling down our face and into our neck crease without being able to wipe it off |
| Falling and running into things with our face all the time |
| Parents dropping us |
| People bopping our nose and squeezing our cheeks constantly |
| Pooping all over ourselves and being ok with it (sometimes) |
| Rolling off the bed, hitting the floor, and living to see another day |
| Strengthening our muscles to pull ourselves up so we can actually see something other than the ceiling or our parent's feet |
And as we kept growing we had to learn how to do things like choosing, defying, expressing, hiding, standing out, to name a few.
But if you think about it, ultimately, we had to figure out the list below. It WAS NOT and still IS NOT easy.
| We had to figure out: | |
|---|---|
| Acceptance | Integrity |
| Authenticity | Kindess |
| Commitment | Love |
| Compassion | Optimism |
| Confidence | Patience |
| Courage | Reliability |
| Fairness | Responsibility |
| Gratitude | Self-discipline |
| Honesty | Understanding |
Much like New Years, birthdays are viewed as a fresh start to the year.
This year is going to be better than the last
This year, I am going to focus on myself
This year, I am going to find love
This year, I am going to take care of my body
This year, I am going to help others
I mean, haven’t you ever done any of these things in all your time on earth? OF COURSE YOU HAVE!
Reflection
So why not take this day and make it about reflection? Reflect on the list above for a while. Although we may not always feel it, we brought a lot of love to people when we were born! We made a lot of choices that brought us here today. Although it may not be our final destination, in terms of growth or expectations, we made it right here, right now. Good, bad, beautiful, ugly, we lived it and made it through.
How to Celebrate Your Birthday
My friend’s mother, a wonderful and special lady, sent me a gift on my birthday once. It was a lovely card, a stone necklace, and an amazing article written about birthday celebrations. The author celebrated her birthday every year by making it a day of celebration, reflection, and surrender. She spent the day doing things that made her feel special. At night, she lit candles, poured a glass of wine, took a bath, put on her new nightgown, changed her bed linens, and read her journal from the past year. While reliving her highs and lows, she fully accepted who she was that past year and what she had encountered and overcome.
Basically, she surrendered to the lows, looked up, and watched them dissipate in the air above her. Although I have had birthdays celebrated in a similar manner (I love the idea of new nightgowns and fresh bed linens!), I don’t keep a daily journal. But what I do is reflect from memory on my highs and lows. Then I surrender to my lows, accept them as lessons, thank them, and move on because I wouldn’t be here without them. We need the lows to take us to the top. Remember, it’s the journey.
So…
I propose for your next birthday, stop yourself when you are about to say, ‘it’s just another day,’ and say, ‘Yes! It is my birthday, and I’m gonna celebrate my life, my choices, my mistakes, my battles, my victories, and my journey,” and if you wanna throw in an “I’m gonna eat a little healthier,” that is fine too.
Oh! And obviously, WEAR SOME YELLOW to bring out your true strength for acceptance. 🙂
How do you celebrate your birthday? Comment below!