Days Go By

Here is an excerpt from most birthday conversations.
“Hey, it’s my birthday!”
“How exciting! What’s special for the day?”

What’s special? I don’t know. What classifies as special? Does it involve partying? Or some sort of drinking, perhaps? And how much drinking is acceptable? Is it until your head spins so much that you can’t identify the mysterious stranger in the mirror? Oh, or does your day count as special if you invite over a dozen people you haven’t met since the same time last year, all because they won’t stop pestering you for a “treat”? Well, they disappeared as fast as the bill appeared.
Sounds fun right?

Here’s another all-too-familiar conversation for you.
“Yo, it’s New Year’s Eve!”
“What’s the scene for tonight?”
“Let’s hit the new club on Trying-Too-Hard Street, man!”

So, did you end up having an epic night? That’s amazing! Too bad you can’t remember any of it. And that hangover? What a way to start the New Year, am I right? Also, your photos from last night hit 500 likes on Facebook.
Totally worth it!

In case your sarcasm radar has failed you, my point is that all of these things are overrated.
All of these things, they are attempts at making every milestone spectacular. There’s just one tiny problem with that though. You don’t get to decide what your milestones are or when they occur. They just, happen.
How many days of your year have straight-up beat your New Year’s night or your birthday? I’m willing to bet that those days involved a lot of spontaneous plans and genuine, heartfelt conversations. I’m also willing to bet that these days left you with a tingling sensation within you. That sensation, my friend, is happiness. Happiness that spreads throughout your body without an ounce of effort. It makes you feel like you could do anything in the world, like you could fly.
We all chase that feeling on these days we count as our milestones. But the irony is- the more you chase it, the further it goes from you. You raise your expectations so high that it becomes impossible to meet them. So you are left brooding over what didn’t happen rather than enjoy what did.

So how about you focus on the moment, and not the day?
In the end, the first day of your year does not determine your whole year, and your birthday does not measure the value of your entire life. No, it’s not even close.