Well, today is my birthday…. 60th birthday at that! I can’t believe that I am saying that or living it for that matter.
When you are young, 60 is OLD! When you are 60, it ain’t so OLD. True, I don’t have the vim and vigor of my 20’s. But I have a lot more wisdom. Maybe more physical pain but a lot less emotional pain. I have some thoughts about all of this.
Last night my sons, Jerry and Aaron with their Ladies. It is nice to have them home. Jerry’s birthday was this week, so we had a little celebration with him. I rarely see him on his birthday anymore as he lives so far away. What a joy this year!
I am still coming off from a great trip to Japan. That jet lag is really something. So I have been up since about 4 am. I will probably need a nap about the time of the party. The good news is that the cats are fed, coffee is made and I am writing my blog post without interruption.
To start the day I had a detox juice that Jenni brought to me. It is call “Stand and Deliver” and contains swiss chard, kale, dandelion, celery, cucumber, parsley, lemon,and ginger. There is a hint of bitter behind the juice. I found it to be very tasty and refreshing. It is a liver tonic.
I am serving french toast, NYS maple syrup, uncured bacon and rice porridge for my house guess this morning. Then we are going to the cottage on Lake Ontario to have a party with my family. Many thanks to Paul and my niece Meg for getting this together. I have a BIG family so this will be a BIG party. How nice! I am happy. It is going to be in the 60’s and sunny. But tonight…. 40’s and very chilly.
Sixty is a big deal and yet it is the same as any other day.
I have had several pivotal birthdays. I remember my 19th birthday. I was devastated. I thought I was “OLD”. I muddled through that one.
When I turned 30, I again was devastated. I was feeling really OLD and I thought my life was over. I was getting pretty depressed over being thirty. I kept thinking: “I haven’t done this _________, and I haven’t done that __________”. Yada, yada.You know that wheel….!
Then I had a thought… I come from a line of healthy long living relatives. I thought “well, I will probably live until I am 80 or 90 or maybe 100. Hmmm. 80-30 is 50!” “I have 50+ years…. well I can do this _______ and I can do that _______!”
It is all in how you frame it folks. Remember this truism.
I wish I had that list to see how much I have completed on it. The rest could be my bucket list….. I have moved a number of times since that day, so I think that list is still in a box some place!
Here are some thought I want to share on this great day.
Make peace with the rhythms of life. There are ups and downs. Enjoy the ups and flow with the downs. We like expansion. It feels good and exciting. We don’t like contraction. But it is necessary to bring all that we experienced/learned in the expansion deep into our beings.
We need the day for work and play and we need the night for rest and integration. Make peace with the nights in your life. We need spring and summer for newness and growth as we need fall and winter for harvest and rest. Make peace with the falls and winters of your life.
Everybody (even your worst enemy) always does the best they can with what they have in any given moment, based on their prevailing awareness in that moment. Sometimes we are stellar and sometimes we are dastardly. Peoples behavior is about them, not about you.
We are all served by forgiving, letting go, learning the lesson and moving on. If you can’t forgive, then let go. Don’t drag that baggage with you through life. When you carry all the hurts with you, it is like having an old dead cat. The cat may have been dead for 10, 20, 50 years….. but you drag it along. Then every time you meet some body, you drag out your old dead cat and say “pet my old dead cat with it’s maggots and flies and crumbling bones…” Now really…. Make quick work of healing and getting over the wounds.
You are responsible for your life and happiness. Happiness is a choice. And every choice that we make, makes the life we have. If you don’t like what you have, start making different choices.
It is easier to make the highest choices when you let go of fear, hatred, anger, pride, depression, shame and choose to life from courage, wonder, willingness, love, peace and joy. My experience has been, even in the worst of times, to remember to ask for “Joy”. When I ask I get it. Oh, and remember too receive the Joy.
A good life is lived in balance. Make choices for right living. Make the choice to live in balance. That includes right eating, right amount of sleep, right work, right relationships and right finances. It also means “giving” and “receiving”. Many of us have trouble with the receiving piece. If you don’t learn to receive, life will orchestrate a situation(s) where you will have to receive, like it or not.
If you are having trouble with this… get help. We aren’t expected to do this alone, for heaven’s sake. Seek out the professionals in traditional and alternative care. Do what you need to remember your wholeness.
Plan then live in the moment as much as you can.
Happy birthday to all of us who celebrate birthdays today.
I will have an update later. Have to make breakfast for my family. 🙂
Blessings,
Mary Pat
Mary Pat FitzGibbons RN Nurse Healer