Birthday Renewal Sun, 27th April, 2014
The occasion of my wife Betsy's birthday yesterday presents an opportunity to pause and reflect on the true meaning of birthdays. Children love them and want more of them. Aging adults approach them either with apathy or angst. Some of us, as we approach another milestone, especially ones that end in zero, become downright hostile to the idea of celebrating an occasion that inches us ever closer to the abyss.
The beauty of blogging is to force oneself to take time for reflection, and in the process discover new truths lying just beneath the surface. And the epiphany for me this morning is that birthday celebrations are not really for the birthday girl or boy, but rather are for those of us who love that person and have a need to honor and celebrate that connection. Remember the joy many of us felt as children to make a birthday card for mom or dad or a friend at school? Or as newly weds, to serve your beloved breakfast in bed?
The sweetness of the birthday cake speaks to us of the sweetness of life and living, at any age. The flame of the candles promises new life, new creative energy and new possibilities for the next year. Cards and gifts reflect the need of the giver to express our profound gratitude for the presence of this honored person in our lives and to acknowledge the many gifts, named and unnamed, that we have already received. It's our opportunity to pour out blessings, hopes and love.
Our friends from India celebrate this beautiful sense of mutuality by having a parent or other family member feed the first piece of birthday cake to the birthday girl or boy. It's a beautiful symbol of nurturing, the giving of life from one generation to the next, and a celebration of the interconnectedness of the human family.
Perhaps most important of all, celebrations of the anniversary of our living are a celebration of life itself. For the alternative to getting a little older each year is not getting younger—it's death. For this reason, I've chosen this dogwood image, snapped yesterday, to accompany this reflection. In Native American circles, the dogwood is a symbol of protection and safety, and in some Mohawk communities, the primeval Tree of Life in the Sky World was said to be a giant dogwood tree.
And so it is that the flowering dogwood offers its blessings for a short time in late April and early May to help us celebrate Easter and Betsy's birthday. Both are beautiful occasions to celebrate life and renewal, love and gratitude.
The occasion of my wife Betsy's birthday yesterday presents an opportunity to pause and reflect on the true meaning of birthdays. Children love them and want more of them. Aging adults approach them either with apathy or angst. Some of us, as we approach another milestone, especially ones that end in zero, become downright hostile to the idea of celebrating an occasion that inches us ever closer to the abyss.
The beauty of blogging is to force oneself to take time for reflection, and in the process discover new truths lying just beneath the surface. And the epiphany for me this morning is that birthday celebrations are not really for the birthday girl or boy, but rather are for those of us who love that person and have a need to honor and celebrate that connection. Remember the joy many of us felt as children to make a birthday card for mom or dad or a friend at school? Or as newly weds, to serve your beloved breakfast in bed?
The sweetness of the birthday cake speaks to us of the sweetness of life and living, at any age. The flame of the candles promises new life, new creative energy and new possibilities for the next year. Cards and gifts reflect the need of the giver to express our profound gratitude for the presence of this honored person in our lives and to acknowledge the many gifts, named and unnamed, that we have already received. It's our opportunity to pour out blessings, hopes and love.
Our friends from India celebrate this beautiful sense of mutuality by having a parent or other family member feed the first piece of birthday cake to the birthday girl or boy. It's a beautiful symbol of nurturing, the giving of life from one generation to the next, and a celebration of the interconnectedness of the human family.
Perhaps most important of all, celebrations of the anniversary of our living are a celebration of life itself. For the alternative to getting a little older each year is not getting younger—it's death. For this reason, I've chosen this dogwood image, snapped yesterday, to accompany this reflection. In Native American circles, the dogwood is a symbol of protection and safety, and in some Mohawk communities, the primeval Tree of Life in the Sky World was said to be a giant dogwood tree.
And so it is that the flowering dogwood offers its blessings for a short time in late April and early May to help us celebrate Easter and Betsy's birthday. Both are beautiful occasions to celebrate life and renewal, love and gratitude.
