Why should you celebrate? (Trippin' over and around the sun)

As I've mentioned before, I like celebrating my birthday by being someplace else. It's the best party you can plan - it doesn't require hefty organization, nor that you bust your ass cooking, cleaning, or designing some elaborate menu or a show and dance. It avoids the unpleasant, egotistic fuss of having people toast you or shower you with prezzies that a lot of us are looking to avoid. And it's bound to not be like the one you had the year before because no two trips ever are, even if they are in the same location.

This year, I'm celebrating it (again) in Seville, though this time, along with my family. You'll no doubt hear more about it when I get back.

See, one thing I was never able to understand is people who say they hate their birthdays. Are you serious? Why? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of acting like a spoiled center-of-attention for a day, either, but I don't understand why you'd skip any reason for a party of some kind. Whether it's a trip, a one-of-a-kind experience like skydiving, a huge blowout or simply a meal and some wine with close friends, your birthday is just another excuse to celebrate the fact that you are still alive and get to be part of this wonderful, brilliant madness that is life.

Me, I'll take any excuse for the above activities. Name day? Let's go. Marking 73 years since your grandfather stubbed his toe? I'm in. Seriously. Unless you're some unbearable git, the point of the party/gathering is nothing but a pretext to break bread and share some laughs, and it seems to me we should take any chance we can get. Because you don't know how long you're gonna be here. Or how long the people who matter will.

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"Oh but it reminds me I'm getting older."

But you are, regardless. Time passes. That's an inescapable constant. And should be precisely why you have a blowout of some kind. Because time passes. Because being alive is worth celebrating. Because you might not be around next year to do it.

It's a silly thing, to overlook your birthday as if that alone were enough to stop the passage of time. It's not, and pretending like it is only makes it go by faster. Nah, not really. Not likely, at least, but it is moving. It's best to try to move along with it and see how many good memories we can get in before they wheel us away.

"It's childish and selfish."

It's not, but you might be. First off, I don't think there's anything wrong per se with wanting to be acknowledged occasionally. We, all of us, need to be reminded that we're worth making a fuss over. And some of us go to extreme lengths to be reminded of this sense of value we feel like we've lost. Personally, I'll take a birthday celebration.

Besides, it doesn't need to be childish or materialistic if you don't want it to be. It's just a pretext, again.

The truth is, it should be an invitation to reflect. And any reflection has a tendency to nostalgia, depression, etc. It seems only logical to counter it by celebrating.

If I look at some of the people I know who don't like making a fuss it's common that they're avoidant of reflection. I am X years old - am I where I hoped I'd be, and if not, am I content with where and what I've got?

If you sit very quietly, you get to ignore the question, or so it seems. You don't, really. Or rather, you ignore it at your peril. If you're not where you'd wanna be, it's still worth celebrating (hey, it's not the end of the world!). And considering you're still alive, it's a reminder that tomorrow, you can start moving in a different direction - also worth celebrating.

It's a dark, vile thing, in my book, this impression that you're not worth making a fuss about. I think if you think that way about yourself, there's something wrong you'd do well to analyze and comprehend before it turns you towards an even darker place.

As far as I've come in 26 years of this place, life is perhaps the single best reason to sing and shout, and raise your glass. You're alive. And what a brilliant, beautiful miracle it is.