Some Obligatory Birthday Wisdom 

It’s my birthday and I’m so happy. A few days ago, I was mopping thinking about how much older I keep getting and why time feels like it’s flying nonstop. Then I woke up today grateful for being here and for everything I have. I’m immensely blessed and I truly don’t want to take anything for granted.

Here are 5 obligatory birthday wisdom nuggets to share:

Ageing is a gift

Truly, if you’re not ageing, you’re dead. That’s the only way to truly stop the ageing process. I’m glad to be ageing and to be doing it with all the grace and joy I can master. Also, it’s such a shame that we live in a youth obsessed world that worships the first decade of adulthood. It makes no sense that we are living longer and are stuck on our 20s. Baby you may live to be 90 so buckle up and enjoy the different seasons of your life. Struggling to hold on to a capitalistic framework of youth is unkind to yourself and will leave you stunted and unfulfilled. Life is too beautiful to be stuck in the past.

Learn and listen to your body

We live in a world that has socialised us to focus on the external. This means that we are disconnected from ourselves and one another. This disconnection shows up in the ways that we are disconnected from our bodies. Being on the journey to get back to living in my body has been very eye opening. I have realised that I have a lot to work through due to this negligence of my own body and there’s no other way to truly be whole. Working to live fully in my body has meant having to learn what my body needs and listening to those needs. Through meditation and yoga and somatic exercises, I have managed to make a lot of headway. As I get older, I am excited to continue to heal, discover and rediscover who I am and to honour my needs.

Goodbyes are a part of life

Whether it’s through death or things falling apart, goodbyes are inevitable in this life. We do ourselves a disservice when we hang on to relationships, situations and versions of our lives and ourselves whose time is up. Of course it doesn’t mean that it’s not a painful process, or that we don’t miss what we had. It does mean however, that we understand that nothing lasts forever and it’s okay to cherish the memories while moving forward. I am so grateful for all my life experiences, even the negative ones because they have made me who I am. I am also grateful for all the people that I have met, and all the people that I have loved because they have impacted me one in one way or another. Even though I have had to say goodbye to some of them, I am still glad that I met them. With saying goodbye and learning to gracefully let go even of the things and the people that we would rather not, it creates space for new things and new people and new experiences. It is comforting to know that I still have not met all the people that will love me and experienced all the happiness I will experience in this life.

Intentionally create your life

We may not have chosen where we were born or the kind of life that we had as children, but as we get older and become adults, it’s important to take responsibility for the direction our lives take. It’s not to say that we will not face challenges or have to work on things that are not our fault, but the choice to work through these things is completely on us. I chose and continue to choose to create a life that is as intentional as possible. Granted, I cannot control everything and do not wish to control everything, but I take responsibility for the things that I can. It is my responsibility to work through any trauma I have experienced. It is my responsibility to work on my own self improvement. It is my responsibility to work towards self awareness. It is my responsibility to learn my patterns so that I can make better decisions and to take responsibility for any poor ones. It is my responsibility to choose the people that I want in my life. By taking responsibility for my life, I am able to do my best in creating a life that does not just happen to me but is as intentional as I can humanly make it.

It’s never too late

I had many dreams growing up and had to give up a lot of them because things just didn’t go the way I wanted them to. As I have gotten older, I have thought about some of those dreams and felt that the time has already passed for them to happen. Society says that if you have not figured out what you want to do by your early 20s and already started pursuing it, the opportunity is forever lost. However, I have discovered that it really is never too late to try. Whether it’s an old dream or a new dream, such as changing careers in your 30s or 40s or beyond. The funny thing is you could look at say going back to school to get a degree and say that you are too old because in 4 years you may be in your 40s, but the truth of the matter is that whether you take the chance to do it or not, the 4 years are going to pass regardless. So you might as well use the time you have to do the things you want to do.

I am more confident than ever in my path and more open than ever to explore and experiment. I am more confident in my voice and in what I have to say and excited to share. I am more confident in who I am and proud of this woman. She is unwavering, resilient, kind, funny, smart, industrious, loyal, brilliantly creative, loving, trustworthy, curious and full of magic. I can’t wait to keep ageing like fine wine.

Update – my friends threw me a surprise party. And had another surprise with my family. I am loved across all space and timelines.