Birthday Reflection.
Episode 61.
Birthday Reflection.
People like to refer to their birthdays as "another trip around the sun"...I have never felt this. I don't feel like I'm rounding a sun. I feel like I'm marching on- making my way- a journey that begins each day with a rising sun and unfolds in moments and connections and swirlings... with opening and grappling and seeing and feeling and sharing and discovering. Another year is another day. Another step on a path that has taken many detours, has been confronted with many forks, has been alive with breath and pulse and sweat and tears and bliss and heartache and joy.
My birth day in 1978 was documented on a yellow lined legal pad, with a blue ball point pen, in my dad's distinct handwriting. He recorded each minute detail with each second that ticked until he had a daughter. He wrote about my mom- her beauty and strength. He wrote about the first steps in his journey of fatherhood. He wrote about his emotions. He wrote from all his senses- seeing, hearing, touching, feeling. He wrote from the place of an observer, and from the place of a proud husband and dad. He wrote for himself, but probably a little piece of him wrote for me, as a 43 year old, reflecting on the journey...and how it all started.
Certainly, I have 43 years of reflection, in this post-birthday week. Certainly, I could come up with 43 things I have learned just in this past year. But, for now, I will just cherish the birthday moments of this year- messages from many beautiful people, sending their light; a shared day with people I love; an epic swim in the salt water; laughter with my mom; dinner table stories...
And on I go, down the path, making my way... with every rising sun and with each moment in between, a reflection of beginning, and an embracing of the journey. Grateful for it all.
Being Here, and Beyond.
Love,
Jess
“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”
- Dr. Seuss
"Another fresh new year is here. Another year to live! To Banish worry, doubt and fear, to love and give."
- William Arthur Ward
Do it all with Love. Nothing is promised. But everything is workable.
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