A Celebration of Life
I've always loved to celebrate birthdays - that feeling of a special occasion, of being a princess for a day. But this year, I celebrated my birthday with more vigour and more enthusiasm than I have ever celebrated before. It wasn't a major milestone - I was turning 28, but in the week leading up to my birthday it hit me that we shouldn't need to wait for a milestone to celebrate life. We should be celebrating life today, and everyday.
Each and every single person that I have in my life today teaches me something valuable. Sometimes I learn how not to behave in a situation, sometimes I learn about the beauty of hindsight and the things I should have done, sometimes I learn what not to do when I parent my children, sometimes I learn about the beauty of human nature..... and sometimes I learn all my life lessons through those who are a mere quarter of my age.
I appreciate the wisdom of my elders, and of those who have gone before me. I appreciate the notion of "love your neighbour" - the guiding principle that has seen me through the past year. But as I have stopped to listen, to really listen to what is happening around me and to the innocent honesty of the children in my life, even those who don't speak my language (or any language at all) there are three lessons that have been guiding me through:
- live life
- love fearlessly
- shed light on others
So in my abundance of celebrations this year - three picnics in three days, laced with a doting husband who cooks and cleans, I was completely taken aback by the love I felt around me. I wasn't celebrating alone. Put quite simply: the full force of love that I felt brought me to my knees and reduced me to tears. I have never felt quite so loved or quite so blessed in my 28 years of existence.
The actions of others - the life-sized bunch of flowers, the surprise cake party, the handmade cards, the thoughtfully picked-out gifts all touched my heart with so much love. But for those of you who know me well enough, know that the fast-track way to my heart is with your words. The hand-written messages and the teary conversations are the things that affected me the most, and the things that will never leave me.
As a child I was taught that "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." This is one of the most misguided and completely false statements I have ever heard, and I spent years chanting that rhyme to those firing unkind statements my way. In all reality, when I look back on my life, I barely remember the ways that I was treated physically - it's the words that have stuck with me to this day, both the soul-crushing and the heart-lifting.
Words are powerful, choose yours carefully.
This post is a huge THANK YOU to those who filled my day with magic and love, and to those who continue to teach me what it means to live, love and shed light.
Each and every single person that I have in my life today teaches me something valuable. Sometimes I learn how not to behave in a situation, sometimes I learn about the beauty of hindsight and the things I should have done, sometimes I learn what not to do when I parent my children, sometimes I learn about the beauty of human nature..... and sometimes I learn all my life lessons through those who are a mere quarter of my age.
I appreciate the wisdom of my elders, and of those who have gone before me. I appreciate the notion of "love your neighbour" - the guiding principle that has seen me through the past year. But as I have stopped to listen, to really listen to what is happening around me and to the innocent honesty of the children in my life, even those who don't speak my language (or any language at all) there are three lessons that have been guiding me through:
- live life
- love fearlessly
- shed light on others
So in my abundance of celebrations this year - three picnics in three days, laced with a doting husband who cooks and cleans, I was completely taken aback by the love I felt around me. I wasn't celebrating alone. Put quite simply: the full force of love that I felt brought me to my knees and reduced me to tears. I have never felt quite so loved or quite so blessed in my 28 years of existence.
The actions of others - the life-sized bunch of flowers, the surprise cake party, the handmade cards, the thoughtfully picked-out gifts all touched my heart with so much love. But for those of you who know me well enough, know that the fast-track way to my heart is with your words. The hand-written messages and the teary conversations are the things that affected me the most, and the things that will never leave me.
As a child I was taught that "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." This is one of the most misguided and completely false statements I have ever heard, and I spent years chanting that rhyme to those firing unkind statements my way. In all reality, when I look back on my life, I barely remember the ways that I was treated physically - it's the words that have stuck with me to this day, both the soul-crushing and the heart-lifting.
Words are powerful, choose yours carefully.
This post is a huge THANK YOU to those who filled my day with magic and love, and to those who continue to teach me what it means to live, love and shed light.
Hi Sam - Love the one about sticks and stones.
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