Gift Exchange

What do you like to do on your birthday?

Some people book the day off work, while others take themselves out for lunch or buy something special. For many people, it's a time to reflect on life purpose, to look at the year gone by and the one just ahead, to clarify goals and renew energy. Of course, birthdays fall on whatever day they do, and often it's not practical to custom-design your own special day. Some years, the birthday ends up resembling an "average day", with its usual combination of small victories and disappointments. On those days, it's important to look around even briefly...to breathe deeply and say "I'm glad to be alive".

This morning, I had a bunch of things to juggle--mostly work-related and family-related--but fortunately (today anyway) I had some say about how I'll juggle them and in what order. What I wanted to do most was to sing for other people, so I headed for the subway.

One thing that struck me today, and which seems to be appropriate in an essay about birthdays, is that it only takes a few people to appreciate you to make your day--and in fact your whole life. We really don't need millions of people to say we're talented or special or valuable or loved. We only need a few.

This morning, although hundreds of people ignored me as always, three people stopped and made me feel extremely special. They reminded me of my family and my closest friends (just like your family and your closest friends) who truly see me and hear me (you) and who love me (you) the way I am.

The people who spoke to me, they didn't know it was my birthday, and I didn't need to tell them. I didn't want them to feel pressured to do something special (buy a CD?) because they already had.

Their birthday gift to me was the reminder to honour myself, to give what I have (a few dozen songs, played and sung imperfectly this morning) and to appreciate the special people in my life. Our exchange didn't take place on a prestigious stage, to great fanfare or applause, but the gifts I will always treasure.