Well anybody who knows me well will already have guessed what this month’s discussion is about – Birthdays!!!! Why, because March is my birthday. There is a date in March that my mother is adamant was the day I was born (and she should know) and another date that my grandmother predicted would be my birthday (and she was rarely wrong in her predictions) so to save confusion and any accusations of bias, I celebrate everyday for the whole month – why?
Because birthdays are so special, they are ours, they marked our arrival and they celebrate our existence and one day isn’t nearly enough so we all need a whole month.
I always start March with a special birthday meditation. I often follow the Buddhist practice of meditating on death, but on March 1st I meditate on life, my life, and I set visions for the forthcoming 12 months. Throughout the whole month of March I will make a concerted effort to do something special every day. Now ‘special’ doesn’t have to mean expensive, indulgent or self obsessed. One day might be just to cook myself my favourite dinner (and enjoy eating it alone if everybody I know is busy), another day I might give myself a whole hour to just lie down in the back garden and stare at the sky. Music will feature for me, I’ll probably run away to my favourite coffee shop (The Flying Nunn in Samford, it’s gorgeous) a few times, I’ll start reading several books and leave them open all over the house, I’ll laugh more loudly then usual and naturally family and friends will feature in my celebrations.
My dear friend Chris calls March ‘the festival of Joni’. When is your festival? How are you celebrating your life? If birthdays aren’t meaningful for you what other marker could you use? We are all special, our lifetimes are unique and wondrous, even when the road is rocky there is something there to learn and celebrate. Why wait, go one, do something amazing for yourself today!