Spend your Birthday Alone. Here’s Why.
Is it important to spend your birthday with friends, family or is it okay to spend it completely alone?
When you search for BIRTHDAY ALONE images, it really is a sad state of affairs but I would like to advocate for the spend your birthday on your own team. If there is such a team out there.
A time for gratitude.
You are one year older. You have made it through 365 days of your body being alive. Celebrate this magnificent magical moment with a big fat THANK YOU to the universe. And you don’t need people to do that. Just you and the world. So, thank you universe for keeping my heart beating and my mind active.
There are people out there who have supported you through your journey. Swing them a thanks too. Your mum — whoever she is and wherever she is, gave birth to you and, if you’ve ever had the privilege of watching someone giving birth, the party we should all be having on our birthdays, should be entirely for our mums! So, thanks mum. And — Dad. You didn’t have to put your body through that, but you have had to put up with me for 37 years and support me in many ways. So, thanks Dad.
And all the friends and partners who have popped up along the journey to the here and now. You wouldn’t be you without the mistakes either so always remember the good times and bad. Birthday’s are a great day to look back on them and smile — because you know so much more now because of them. (I realise this is a but cryptic but I am sure we all have our own demons and this is a time to reconcile them).
A time for Living
Be present. Be here now. It’s easy to get stuck in planning for the future and wishing time would move faster (especially true when in the middle of a Pandemic) but it is important just to stop. Take one day at a time and appreciate the little things. Like the fluffy dog keeping my feet warm and snoring as I write. Or the sun coming out from behind the clouds. There may not be a tomorrow (that does not mean to live like there is no tomorrow — tried that, got into debt).
A time for Reflection
37 years of being on this planet. Everyone has a different measure of what success is. What does success look like to you? Being alive is the first thing I can think about. I know I have things and states of being I would like to achieve but I think I have done pretty well so far. Blips along the way etc but I know they have shaped me. Would I do anything different? No. Because it wouldn’t make sense to my here and now.
A time for Intention
I know I have things I would like to change; ways of improving who I am both physically and how I interact with the world. Set intentions on your birthday. I intend to embark upon 100 days of sobriety and movement (Lockdown weight is now reaching 20kg+) I have developed habits I need to break and shift so that I can survive another 37 years in this body. What better day to start this change.
A time for You
The selfish part. This is your day. When you are alone, you can do anything you want to do. Spend the whole day in your PJs? Yes please. It’s whatever you want it to be. And if that means climbing a mountain or watching a movie about climbing a mountain, then so be it. It’s yours.
