Everyday is your birthday but yesterday I turned 50.
Each day, and really in each moment, we have an opportunity to be born again. My belief is that my birth was simply a passing from one moment to the next for me. I was in the womb, then I was not. My mother may have a different opinion about it only being a moment but you get my point. I did not breathe on my own and then I did. That is a pretty drastic change within a moment. Then we have subtler changes that happen throughout our lives as well as the continued sudden changes. All changes effect us its how we process those changes that gives us the opportunity to be "reborn."
Some people do not like their birthdays. I guess it reminds them that they are aging. How come we liked our birthday so much as a kid? We were aging then too. When do we go from being excited about our aging selves to not liking our aging selves? Is it when we have our fourteenth birthday, our twentieth birthday or our fiftieth? I think my 93 year old grandfather is happy again when he has a birthday. He is just glad to be alive. Screw the aging issue; he is happy to be breathing and thinking clearly. We tend to go from not liking our body to being grateful for the vessel that it is, that has allowed us to live in this world.
I have been lucky to have a blessed life with a kind family and friends. My birthdays have always been a happy time. I know for some maybe not. But I think, what a birthday can be for everyone, is a reminder that we can make changes by choice and embrace the ones that happen naturally through aging. At any time, we can re-define ourselves if we are not happy. We have a choice to think about things in a new way, a choice to react to things in a more positive way and a choice to be kinder, more compassionate and more of service to those who are less fortunate. Birthdays are a time to celebrate all that is good in your life. All that is good in you. I would say that most people want to be happy and kind but often have many factors that lead them to forget how to be. We have stress, we feel hurt or damaged, we feel ugly or unlovable or unworthy of a celebration of self. But my belief is that everyone has something to offer the world and even if it is only one thing, it is valuable. It might just be a cracker.Today on my first day of year 51 (because actually, when I turned 50 yesterday I had already lived that 50th year), I meditated on non-violence or non-harm for this year. I hoped for that around the world and for myself and those I love. It is an intention to live with kindness towards others and myself. I also want to keep trying new things and challenge my creativity. I have started to play with refurbishing furniture and making old pieces into new pieces of furniture. My husband and I rode our scooter 30 miles to the Block Island Ferry instead of driving and it was scary for me but really really fun. I am running again after years of not. I decided to give it a go after becoming much more flexible through doing hot yoga. I am not running fast but it feels good to be moving like that again. Who knew? So each morning see what you want to be born again in you. Maybe you want to birth something new! Look at each day as an opportunity to wake up and make new choices, think more positively or love yourself just as you are: PERFECT. We all change and so do the conditions around us but I say embrace life, make adjustments, adapt and live with as much ease as your mind will allow. Ask for help if you need to or offer help when it is needed. Choose to be kind and have a happy birthday everyone. Every day.
Here's to 50 more!