Birth Week 52

Today is the beginning of my birth week, number 52. I share this birth week with a lot of friends, and sometimes I still hear comments about birthdays that surprise me. I am a Birthday Fairy - my birthday means a lot to me, and I think everyone else's birthday should mean a lot to them.

Just the fact that we are here is a big deal. Like in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" the lives of every single person around us would be different if we weren't here. Even if you only did one nice thing for one person in your life, that person's life would have been different if not for you - so, yes, your being here means something.

YOUR EXISTENCE IS YOUR IMPACT. Without doing, creating, or being anything - other than just being here. So, no, your birthday should never be 'just another day'.

For you alone, your birthday is a personal New Year celebration. Personal. You don't have to share it with anyone else - and it is not necessary to. You should never feel that your birthday is only justified if someone else thinks it is a special day. If that is the case, then you are looking a little too far outside for your happiness and sense of validation. YOU have to be the one to know - to know - it is significant.

The New Year celebrated every December 31st if fraught with that unfortunate expectation. It is never and has never been about the people around you 'making' you happy; it is about you being happy first and sharing that with those around you. Your birthday should be celebrated as a New Year's celebration, with you looking back on what was (with the 20/20 vision of hindsight) to appreciate all that you were able to enjoy and to learn from what you didn't. At the end of the day, look forward to all the possibilities that a new year can bring - with focus on that idea of possibility, because anything is possible - even the good.

A new year is exactly that: new. What a lot of people don't realize is that we get old when we let go of new. That is the key to youth; to the young, everything is new, and therefore exciting and full of possibility. If we think that every year, every day, every moment is old, we get old. If nothing is new, then nothing is exciting and possible, right?

And forget that "New Year, New Me" bullshit; all that does is reinforce an idea that you have been less than perfect, or not good enough. You have been you, whether you have lived authentically or not, and that was perfect for you at that time. And you change constantly, with every experience you have. You are always new.

For me, this past year has been a mixture of some very big highs and some extreme lows (no middle ground this year!). When I look back at age 51, I will be focusing on those highs; moving forward into 52, I'm working on bringing those lows up and those highs higher. Same me, new experiences.

I will never get old - it's a good thing, too; I'm not yet what I wanted to be 'when I grow up'. And there are still so many more possibilities! But I'm enjoying the hell out of the journey.

And in the vein of both celebrating what I've done and continuing this conversation about birthdays, here are a few past birthday commentaries of mine:

"I'm Now 48 (But I Will Probably Never Grow Up)" "Creating the Life I am Living (The Birthday Blog)"

"2017 - Our 50th Year (It's Carol's Fault)"

I'll be reflecting over the next few days until my birthday. Tuesday will be the annual Polishing of the Tiara. Wednesday will be the celebration (until I feel like stopping).

After that: on with the new! Happy birthday to ME!
Happy birthday to YOU!


Comments

  1. ☿Ü♭Σ☈♣ ḶỈḬOctober 8, 2019 at 2:29 PM

    Great post-- as usual. Mine, as you know, is December 27th, and no one is ever around. My family has even given up celebrating my birthday. So, it is my day, a pause between the frenetic holidays. A pause to reflect, like Janus (January is derived from the two-faced god), both backwards and forwards. It's simple, mostly "me time", occasionally with a good friend, and if I have the money, a good meal, after a day at the museum or special screening of a great movie. It's private for me, a small space of celebration, usually waiting for the money to hit my account. Fifty was tough, the years of lead up, because I'm not grown up; two failed marriages and no kids, no real career. But some libertarian mom of three asked me if I was forty the other day, so I have that over others. Ha-- Great post-- and a belated Happy Birthday to you!

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