Beer-day!

At breakfast, my mother asked me in a weird kind of tone how old I am today. As if she didn’t know! And to add insult to the injury, she asked if I have a date tonight.:D

Birthdays are strange things, the more you have the more you try and pretend they don’t matter, and the more people try and tell you they are not so bad. It’s true, I am getting older, but as someone just said to me “who isn’t getting older every day?” I think the problem people associate with birthdays has more to do with the fact that a birthday throws into sharp focus all the things we think we should have done, but have not.

It would probably be depressing if my to-do list is exactly the same as it was last year. That would leave me with a feeling of having accomplished nothing, and not going anywhere. I’d like to think that I’m fortunate enough this year. I look back at where I was last year and look at the fundamental things that have changed since then:

• I am happier despite the bigger challenges in my job
• I appreciate God's graces more
• I am calmer and more forgiving of myself and others
• I have simplified my life in many ways
  

Tonight will be a celebration that would beckon my friends to sit down and spend a few hours together over great-tasting food and some great conversation. Two old maids, an incorrigible playboy, a power couple, a self-proclaimed anarchist, a shopaholic and a placard-toting single mom. For one glorious evening, my birthday dinner will bring world peace.

So as you can see, I can’t see much point in feeling depressed, though I might think about what I want to change in time for next year. Today, and like any other day, I'd like to focus on my blessings. I have a lot to be thankful for!

And to guide me for next year’s to-do list, I will meditate on these verses from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching…

Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.
Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!

How ridiculous, indeed!:D And finally, here’s Lao Tzu’s advice that I should apply to my daily life:

Express yourself completely---then keep quiet.

Amen!:D