Live Life Every Day Like It's Your 21st Birthday!

Written in the morning on March 18, 2014-

For some of us, you may be just as excited to turn another year older as you were when you turned 21, but for many of us it can feel daunting and a little overwhelming, and we begin to resist this natural process of life. I for one want to learn to age with grace, I want to learn to embrace my wrinkles, I want to celebrate all the lessons I learned in each previous year and welcome all the beauty and blessings in the year to come. 

When I think of how alive I feel after reading all of the wonderful blessings and wishes for my friends and family on my birthday today, I begin to wonder if it is possible to feel this way every day, or at least more often throughout the year, rather than only on my birthday. I want to live my life with as much joy as when I turned 16 or 18 or 21.  

I started my birthday out today by sleeping in, enjoying a delicious breakfast made lovingly by my husband, reading beautiful messages of birthday blessings online, spending some quiet time in front of my little affirmation altar, singing at the top of my lungs in the car, and bellydancing for a few minutes in the living room, all before work! 

So I ask myself, why don't I start every day like this? What's stopping me? Really nothing. So it's definitely something to consider--how can we live each day with as much joy as we have on our special day or when we turned 21 or whatever age brought us great joy and a genuine feeling of zest for life? I know it's not always realistic to fit all these fun activities in every morning before work but if we show enthusiasm and commitment to our own joy every morning, at least by doing one small thing for ourselves that brings us more joy and a fresh perspective for our day, it might be easier to stay positive when stress and fear and frustrations come up throughout the day. 

We can remember the uplifting songs we sung that morning or the feeling of shimmying and dancing or the love that fills our heart when we remember all that we have to be grateful for in this life.  Our hearts can fill again with the love and blessings that our friends and family send us each year on our birthday when we remember their words and love again and again.  

I heard today that if we continue to read about new things, it keeps us feeling young. I wrote this poem because I also hope the following as I get older:

A Prayer As I Get Older

I want to become more loving as I get older

I want to open my heart even more

I want to be more patient

I want to truly live in the moment

And relish the joy I feel

So that the mere memory of that joy

Fills my spirit with love

When I am in need of light.