Life Reflections on a Birthday
Today is my birthday! :)
As I’ve written previously, birthdays are cause for celebration, and since I’ve learned how to make my own birthdays joyful, I now rarely have a disappointing one. As I’m aging, though, another aspect of this yearly occasion has been making an increasingly important appearance: reflection.
Do you tend to reflect on your life when you have a birthday?
I suppose it’s typical as we age to reflect and a birthday is a logical trigger for such reflection. Since emotions are simply information, I welcome this reflective process (though I didn’t always!), no matter what insights it brings me.
I’m precariously close to having lived six decades of life and the first thing I feel about that fact is surprise. How has my life sped by so quickly?!? How can *I* be “old”? Wasn’t I a teenager just yesterday? If I didn’t know how old I was, I would believe that I was in my mid-30’s.
The second feeling to arise as I spend time in contemplation about my birthday is sadness. I’m not so much sad that I have fewer years ahead of me than behind me (though that used to cause me much dismay), but that my body is uncooperative in many ways now. It was easy to say, “Well, that’s life!” when I first noticed signs that my body was aging, but the reality of what I can no longer do hits harder today because I know there’s only so much I can do to stave off this downward physical decline.
Realizing that this is my reality now, I’ve spent some time dealing with the difficult emotions that have risen to the surface. As these emotions are processed, I feel better and my attention naturally begins to turn toward more pleasant feelings.
When I think about the life I’ve led, I am amazed and delighted at how magnificent it has been.
I’ve have the best family and friends on the planet.1
I’ve lived in three different states and several different cities in each.
I’ve experienced music-making joy in dozens of different groups.
I’ve had almost a hundred sweet feline companions.2
I’ve had an interesting career as a software engineer.
I’ve had a wealth of material possessions.
I’ve traveled to interesting places.
I’ve read hundreds (or thousands?) of books.
I’ve spent a fair amount of my life outdoors, enjoying sunshine and scenery.
This list could go on and on. I’ve stopped listing my past blessings only because I need to continue with my day’s activities (and finish this blog post!). ;)
My attention effortlessly turns to my present life and how I feel about it. I notice that many of my past blessings are still a part of my current life. Were I to bore you with a second list, it would contain many similar items such as family, friends, activities, experiences, and even material goods. The details would change, but the sentiment would be the same: I am richly blessed!
Having reviewed all of my feelings surrounding this birthday, I’ve realized that I can focus on what is lost, what I can no longer do, or what I will never do. But that seems to be a course fraught with difficult emotions that will only bring increased grief if I choose to ruminate on them. I’m sure there’s a better, happier way…
As I view my current existence through the lens of that which is present, pleasant, and possible, I can see that my future has the potential to be as rich as any part of my life thus far has been. I know a secret, of course, that my frequent readers could probably guess: It’s not the facts of my life, but my attitude about my life that makes it either magnificent or miserable.
How do you feel about your own life? Through what lens are you viewing the magnificence or the misery?
For me, choosing a magnificent (rest of my) life is easy. Why would I choose anything else? On this birthday, I’m going to take more time than I usually do to focus on what is great about my life. Giving myself the gift of a positive attitude is perhaps the best gift I can give myself on this — or any — birthday.
Though I’ve not been to Mars, I imagine that my friends and family would even give Martians a run for their money with regard to the love, kindness, and joy that my loved ones bring me.
I used to be a foster mom for rescue groups and I currently take care of feral cats, which is how I have been able to have so many furry kids.