Forty-Four and Proud!

Today marks my forty-fourth birthday – and yes, I am proud, it’s a privilege often denied by many.

On this day, so many things and thoughts and feelings come into my mind as I reflect on the past year of my life.

I often wonder – was a year added to my age or was a year deducted from my life? I do not know, and I have not figured that out yet – but one thing is for sure, age is beyond a number, it is far beyond some digits and dates; it’s not a mathematical algorithm – it’s only a journey.

For me, my birthday is a time when I remind myself with all the things, I am grateful for. It's a day where I think about what have I done, what I still aim to do and what I have learned between this and that, needless to mention it’s also a day where I draft the sketch and outline the plan for the year ahead with lots of hope and belief that it will be better than my previous years and with lots of happiness, accomplishments and inner peace.

When it comes to thanking God and my loved ones, a lot of it boils down to the little details. It's all those little things that make me realize just how blessed I am, just how much good I have in my life and just how much I appreciate it all. People say time moves fast and that you turn around and wonder where all that time went. I feel it.

My life is running. Sometimes, I look back and think to myself, where did the last twenty-five years go?

But...I am alive. And I am grateful for each and every day I am given, each day that is filled with the joy and love and happiness I get from my family, friends and my own self and inner soul.

Each birthday brings me closer to the fact that I am only wiser not older and that there are still lots of opportunity for me for reflection, connection, growth and happiness. My birthday is a chance to look inside myself and see where I want to be and to take the needed steps to get there.

With the noise of life, it’s easy to forget such things as life just swamps you with its roller coaster ride but I have one day a year that I can make a little more spiritual thoughts and put things in perspective.

Today being my birthday, it can be a little different as it’s not a special day for everyone else; it is my day.

My day to make me special in the middle of the regular routine and I use this day to the fullest, to start making positive changes and start a new chapter towards the steps I see in the right direction.

I always thought and still think that I am still young. Fact is, I feel so young and there are so much I want to do and so much I want to accomplish.

Then again, I say - I am not forty-four, I am only eighteen with twenty-six years of experience, that sounds much more soothing you know.

After we cross our forty years of age we stop counting , we rather see the upcoming as a second-half better opportunity where you do something good with what you know and you become very open with what you do not know ,you follow your bliss, you leave your baggage in the bleachers and run and you definitely learn – you never lose , you either win or learnز

One very well said quote by Richard Gere that I truly believe in and I recite to myself day in and day out says:

"I am old, but I am forever young at heart. We are always the same age inside. Know that you are the perfect age. Each year is special and precious, you can only live it once. Do not regret growing older, it's a privilege denied to many!"

Finally, the best part about growing older above forty is that you can blame everything on midlife crisis. Happy birthday to me and cheers to another chance to make it right!

Forty_Four_and_Proud

By Mona Radwan