“There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born, and the day we discover why”. – William Barclay
Thirty-eight laps around the sun, and I guarantee I feel thankful each day I wake up. I genuinely appreciate my life and the wonderful people I’m surrounded by. The experiences I’ve been privileged to enjoy, the unique people I’ve met and shared stories with, and the dreams I’ve been able to turn into reality.
It’s powerfully invigorating when you know why too.
Today is my birthday, and I’m 38. I feel like I’ve scored a bonus year because I thought I was turning 38 last year. Lucky for me, the balloons I woke up to clearly stated 37, and the I-don’t-trust-my-brain-at-this-hour-of-the-morning thought meant that a quick calculation of 2022 – 1985 confirmed I was, in fact, 37.
On that note, in what I like to call the second year of my 37th year, it’s now come to a close, and I’ve fallen on an even number again. Ages and volume buttons sit nicer on evens, 5’s or 0’s. Or is that just me?
Birthdays are a time to reflect on the year that was, and they’re a celebration of the blessing of life and growing old, a privilege not afforded to us all.
Having fallen in love with writing for fun in 2020, I resonate with the lyrics of a song from Hamilton, “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?”
I listened to those sung words at the end of April when Madison and I were in Brisbane to see Hamilton at QPAC. I’ve never felt as moved by a message as I did when shared by a song in that instance. I sometimes find myself writing like I’m running out of time, having only picked up the creative aspect of writing three years ago. I have unpublished work and pieces written which will never see the light of day. Not because I don’t want them to be read, but because it’s not relevant or appropriate, or I can’t filter it enough for any platform I use to share.
Writing is a creative outlet that mostly replaced my love of sewing when I began. The direct evidence of this switch can be found in the quilt I finished at the start of May 2023, which began at the start of COVID in 2020 as a Jelly Roll before I started writing to support small businesses through COVID.
Creating something with your hands, whether it be sewing or handwriting, fosters a sense of pride and satisfaction while promoting psychological benefits. The focus and attention on creating something yourself is pretty rewarding, even if it’s not meant for the world.
Recently in my workplace, the team were chatting on Microsoft Teams about hobbies and creative things they’d made. Some shares left me feeling like I’d been living under a rock because I had no idea what some of these talents were. But with that thought and curiosity came the opportunity to learn and understand the craft, process and purpose. It was the chance to realise where a person channels their creative energy and how it benefits them, with the added benefit of catching a glimpse into their lives and being trusted with the findings. Fascinating and intriguing.
It’s true that you learn something new every day, but as one of the team members shared during this Microsoft Teams chat, we were good for at least 10 days of new content because of how much we’d learnt from each other simply by sharing.
As each year goes on, I find myself getting curiouser and curiouser and as many who’ve walked before me would say, it’s all part of the adventure.
While I may write like I’m running out of time and ask questions like there will be no tomorrow; know that with every gift of each day, education, awareness and understanding aid in enabling a balanced and deliberate approach to this journey we call life. I know where I’m heading, but I’m happy to take the adventurous route.
Today I’ll remember that 38 is the oldest I’ve ever been and the youngest I’ll ever be, so I’ll make the most of it.
