A Birthday of Reflection
This year, as I celebrate my 72nd birthday, I find myself pausing not only to mark the passing of time but to embrace the gift of wonder and gratitude. Birthdays are more than candles and cake, they are milestones in the ongoing rhythm of life. Each year offers new lessons, new joys, new challenges, new surprises. And gratitude transforms those years into treasure.
Harvesting a Lifetime of Blessings
Just as autumn invites us to gather the harvest, a birthday invites us to gather the blessings of a lifetime. Over the years, I have harvested friendships, wisdom, resilience, and love. Each challenge has taught me courage; each joy has deepened my gratitude. I look back not with regret, but with wonder at the abundance gathered along the way.
Letting Go, Making Space for New Songs
One of the gifts of age is learning how to let go. Letting go of the need to be perfect. Letting go of fears that once held me back. Letting go of the thought that now that I’m retired from my high-tech career, I am no longer of value. I now have a different value. Letting go of the illusion that time is endless or that time even exists, and instead treasuring the present moment. Like autumn leaves drifting to the ground, what I release creates space for new growth. Gratitude helps me welcome what comes next with open arms.
The Wonder of Still Becoming
At 72, I am still becoming. That realization fills me with delight. Too often, society suggests that our later years are about winding down. But I see them as opening up. Without the daily grind of writing another case study or figuring out a startups marekting plan, there is space for new possibilities, new adventures, new ways of expressing love and joy. Gratitude keeps me curious. It keeps me singing, writing, exploring, and savoring the beauty around me.
Gratitude as the Song of Life
Music has always been a metaphor for my life. Some songs are upbeat, others soulful, and some are quiet melodies. On this birthday, I hear gratitude as the steady rhythm beneath every note. Gratitude turns ordinary days into symphonies and milestones into celebrations. It teaches me that wonder isn’t something reserved for the young, rather it belongs to every stage of life.
Walking Into a New Year with Gratitude
As I step into my 73rd year of life, I do so with a heart full of gratitude. Gratitude for the people who walk with me, for the beauty of nature that surrounds me, for the challenges that strengthen me, and for the wonders still to come. Gratitude for knowing I am as God created me and I am with good company in my mission to be a Light for the World.
Life is not about counting the years… it is about making the years count. And gratitude ensures that every year, every day, every breath counts in the most meaningful way.
Birthdays remind us that life itself is a wonder. At 72, I celebrate not only the years behind me but the gifts yet to come. Gratitude turns age into blessing and wonder into song.
So as Susan Enan wrote: “Bring on the wonder, bring on the song I pushed you down deep in my soul for too long.” I accept the challenge of living in wonder and song for this 73rd year of my life. And, of course, seeking every opportunity to find gratitude for the opportunity to just be here with YOU.