Birthdays

My 30th birthday was a huge wake up call for me. I was newly married and just getting used to being a wife. My husband graciously asked what I wanted to do for my birthday. I responded, "Nothing." However, the truth was I wanted him to throw me a party. I had sent all of my messengers to tell him this secret but when he asked me, I continually said, "Nothing." And just hoped he would surprise me.

Well I married an honorable man who trusted me and believed me. So there I sat in my office on this milestone birthday, seething that he had done nothing. Poor guy did not have a chance. He did not know how to play the mind game.

In my distress, I read Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan. It is a great fictitious book about the Aborigines of Australia. I just came across the part of the book which discussed birthdays. I was taken aback. According to the book, the Aborigines don't celebrate birthdays, they celebrate and honor someones uniqueness and contribution to life. They are encouraged to become better and wiser year after year.

As a person grows and develops a talent, they call for a party to celebrate their growth. They decide when, where and how they want to celebrate their progress and the tribe comes together to honor them. They don't expect the tribe to know when it is time to celebrate.

What a beautiful tradition it is to honor ourselves and celebrate our uniqueness and the development of our beingness. Rather than putting so much emphasis on the calendar year. This is a great message for me. Each year I strive to become a more unique, wise, and better person and then celebrate that. My physical birthdays no longer have all of the pressure for me or my husband. It is amazing how a little story can change ones perception so quickly.