What is it about birthdays that makes people either celebrate or ignore them? At the beginnings of life, birthdays are pure celebration and joy. Then, birthdays are celebrations of growth and swiftly turn to graduations of strength. At some point in the process, people may begin resenting the celebrations entirely--I'm not entirely sure why. Finally, at the ends of our lifetimes, birthdays become victory celebrations and are triumphs once again.
 |
Sometimes, it's best not to overdue the candles ...
image credit |
This reminds me of the ancient sphinx riddle: What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at night? The answer is a man (crawling as a baby, walking as an adult, and using a cane as an elder). Life is all about changes. We grow, learn, and move on. The trouble is when we stop. We human beings are not meant to sit and gather moss. We are designed to constantly grow, to adapt, and to learn. Birthdays are like milestones, giving us an easy measure of hopeful growth. It's a simple gauge of maturity--usually fairly accurate.
Birthdays are our way of honoring such growth. It's a good thing. I just don't understand why some people are squeamish about their age, or celebrating another year of life. In many cultures it's inappropriate to discuss age at all. That's sad, as I find great value in advancing age. The virility of youth is wonderful, but the wisdom of age is treasured.
So, in honor of everyone else's birthday, I won't be noticing my own this year ... just kidding. I'm sure I have a birthday sometime this year--I just need to check my driver's license to find out when it is.
- M
No comments:
Post a Comment