“Most of us can remember a time when a birthday – especially if it was one’s own – brightened the world as if a second sun has risen.” – Robert Staughton Lynd
Having recently celebrated a birthday, I can’t help but think about the days of my youth where my birthday was one of the biggest days of the year for me. As a child, my birthday meant the arrival of new toys and sometimes a video game (or game system in the case of 1997 when I got my first Nintendo Game Boy; and two years before that, a Sega Game Gear). But as the years have progressed, my birthday has become less and less about the presents I receive. Why?
Now don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy getting a couple of nice things on the anniversary of the day of my birth. But I’m not the same kid running up to his parents with a twenty-item long birthday list. I’ve realized over the years that my birthday is more about what the actual day means, and not what I get. It’s a mindset that definitely takes you more and more as the years go by, and you realize that life itself is the greatest gift you can receive on your birthday.
There are so many opportunities for each and every one of us to miss our next birthday. Death lurks around every corner, and so many have died too young. We must celebrate not only our birthdays, but also each day because life is too unpredictable. Remember that your birthday is the reminder that you possibly have another 365 days to do something special with your life, and/or impact someone else’s life in a positive manner.
