Happy Birthday...To Me! And Making Wishes for You!
Making Wishes, Celebrating & Setting Intentions
Today is my birthday (feel free to sing along!). And I’m going to keep this one short and sweet — I’ve got some birthday cake to eat and some celebrating to do!This year I received the loveliest monogrammed handbag – and I want to share why it feels so significant for me. A traditional monogram has 3 initials and like most, I do have 3 initials — though they have changed a few times through marriages and divorces. I’ve often thought about how I could’ve saved myself a lot of hassle had I been one of those women who had kept her maiden name all along (hindsight). I will admit it was weird relearning to sign a new last name a few times.At this point in my life, as schmaltzy as it may sound, I feel more like my true self than I ever have. I’ve traveled a great distance to arrive here (and, I’ve got some scars to prove it - HA!). However, I’ve decided to strip myself free of the identities of others – no name of my family, no name of my ex-husbands — simply me, myself and I — here on this journey and on my new handbag.This isn’t a statement on how anyone else should navigate this – it’s just my way of sharing a personal truth with you on the anniversary of my birth. It’s not about breaking conventions – it’s about releasing oneself from ‘shoulds’ (like, that monograms should have to have 3 letters).
Life is your party - so don’t wait until that very one day each calendar year to celebrate it and to settle into you.
Today, I celebrate it all – the good, the bad and the ugly. As I pick up the pieces of myself that have been scattered about throughout the years, collecting the breadcrumbs of messages I left behind – I am reminded that it has all led to a pretty great place – an awakening of my most authentic self, surrounded by beautiful people, doing the work that I love.Besides, I believe that our birthdays demarcate the beginning of our true new year — the perfect time to sit and create a vision board, to dream and to set the manifesting wheels in motion — your very own reset button (and I don’t care how many candles are on your cake!). The time is now.Never underestimate the power of investing in yourself. Self-care is a non-negotiable. You may think you don’t have time, but mark my words it will catch up with you one way or another. So why not get out ahead of this thing called your life and start designing and living vibrantly? There’s no better time than at the onset of your birthday.
Here are a few ideas to take for a test drive:
ALLOW: Allow yourself to create space for YOU – to take care of you, to unfold into the best version of you. Release yourself from all the excuses and carve out the time to insert the things you need most – time to meditate, exercise, to eat well, to giggle.COMPASSION: Lovingly accept where you’ve been, understand how you got there and allow yourself the space to move beyond it. Hey, those are the darn good juicy chapters of your life. When we do not impart a kind mind upon ourselves, we instead remain stuck in self-chastisement. Chart a new course!DREAM: Sit and allow yourself to dream. Be the architect of what is to come. Jot down ideas, visions, things that excite you. Map out the year ahead – where do you want it to go? There is power in declaration. Put it out there, write it, speak it, meditate on it, visualize it. Dream big — those are your candles on the cake and no one has domain over your wishes.So as I blow out my candles today – I want you to know that I am grateful for YOU – for crossing my path, for influencing my life, for being a part of this evolution in whatever capacity. No matter what exquisitely wrapped box we unwrap – may it lead to our best selves, the best version of ourselves. And may it keep us forever reaching for more of that.Happy Birthday to ‘KN’...and thank you, thank you, thank you!