Oh, that time of year again when you acknowledge your new number, have some sort of celebratory dessert and usually wake up the next morning feeling no different than the year before. But, not this year. This year is about embracing change head-on with a beautiful expectation that everything the new year is going to offer is indispensable.
Indispensable; you know, those things that are absolutely necessary in shaping our lives, rendering growth and empowering us to live with resolution. But, hold up! How can we embrace the indispensability of a new season without disregarding the history of our lives?
Here are 8 ways to celebrate your birthday timelessly, infusing both the past and future presently.
1. Spend your day with people who are constant in your life.
Life is to be shared. We all have a few people in our lives that have been there for us through thick and thin. Whether it is a parent, husband, sister or best friend – being with the people who experience you as you change throughout the years and love you through and through will keep the years timeless.
2. Do something meaningful.
Get outside of yourself this birthday and get some perspective on life. Play cards with the elderly at an old folk’s home; spend an afternoon with an individual with special needs; serve at the soup kitchen or simply bake muffins for a neighbor. We all can get a little too caught up in our own world to realize that there is so much more to living beyond what we do on a daily basis. Getting outside of yourself fosters enriched perspective on the joys of being alive, embracing community and the choice to be a blessing.
3. Document life.
Life is to be remembered. Take the time to journal, snap photos or take a video to reflect on in the days to come. Change can been difficult sometimes, but only because the unknown that change brings can be daunting. When you document your life, change doesn’t seem as scary. Carrying these special remnants reminds us that they wouldn’t exist if not for change along the way.
4. Reminisce on favorite memories of your past year.
Life is to be cherished. Even if your year wasn’t what you had hoped it would be, or if you experienced more downs than ups, recognizing the good times can shed new light on even the most difficult of circumstances because they offer us growth.
5. Write down the ways in which you’ve grown.
Be specific. There are 365 days of potential growth physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This is the time when you can sum up all the lessons you have learned and recognize their value.
6. Write a note to self.
It never hurts to give your self a pep talk or create a little reminder to not take life for granted. Writing your self a note is not so that you look back to wish for former days; writing yourself a note is so that you don’t settle; or, in the words of pro-surfer, Shayne McIntyre, “May we never think that it can’t get any better.”
7. Don’t forget to eat cake.
Simply put, eh? You may not be a cake eater, but don’t forget to indulge in some foodie fetish that makes your taste buds sing.
And lastly, for the head-on embrace of change and indispensable offerings:
8. Name your year.
Begin your new year by giving it a distinguished name — a vision, an aim. You may be a planner or you may live by the seat of your pants. One is not better than the other. There is no need to stress if you don’t have a plan or if what you thought was your “perfect” plan now has you watching from the sidelines. The beauty of life is often just taking the journey as it comes. And hindsight would tell us that no plan of our own is ever truly perfect.
But what you can do is name your year. To give a name is to empower; therefore, the only influence something actually has comes from the power you give it. Whether you choose to name your year the year of investment, or of rest, adventure, teamwork, creativity, you name it — you create an endless list of possibility and opportunity to view every aspect of your life through a new lens.
When you give a name to your new year, you’re not confining it; you’re empowering it.
Happy Birthday! What does this year hold for you?
Image via Paulina Kolondra
7 comments
What a lovely, well-timed article, and much needed article, thank you. I have been struggling to get excited about my upcoming 30th birthday in October. I wish this was an exciting milestone I could share with others, but it has been a rough year for me and I find myself realizing I may be “celebrating” this birthday alone. I parted ways with someone I love very much this time last year and so the last year has been a long struggle of heartbroken-ness. My family lives several thousand miles away and my few close friends in the area will all be on vacation. It breaks my heart to think that what should be a joyous occasion for me to celebrate with others may instead be a day spent on my own trying not to ruminate about the downs of the past year. Thank you for providing a few other ways to acknowledge the day and reflect on the year.
I just wanted to point out that for number 2 when it says “spend an afternoon with special needs” this sounds slightly offensive. As a special education major we learn about using “person-first language,” making sure that individuals with special needs are not identified by their disability, but as a person first and foremost. I just wanted to bring to your attention that saying, “an individual with special needs” or “a person with special needs” would be more respectful to these individuals. Thank you.
I appreciate you pointing this out, and I’m so sorry for offending you! By no means was that my intention. I’ll see if it can be changed appropriately.
Thank you so much! I love this magazine and the work that y’all do and believe me I know there was no intent to offend, I just wanted to bring it to your attention because I think we can all learn from one another. I appreciate you taking this into consideration and working to change it. Once again your team has proven how amazing and loving of a community y’all are. Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for bringing that to our attention! Maja contacted us immediately with the concern and we updated the article accordingly. We love our readers and writers and adore the sensitivity to how others may react to certain phrases. Thank you for your advice!
I love how intentional these idea are. I wrote a note to myself last year on my birthday and I’m so looking forward to re-reading it soon. I’m totally adopting the naming of the year too this time around. Focusing our vision for a year is a powerful step!
I absolutely love the idea of naming your year. Whether only a part of that sticks or the whole year is shaped by that simple idea, it sets a pattern from the start. It’s an easy way to motivate and envision the upcoming months.
xx, leslie
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