Today’s the One Day You All Have to Listen to Me

It’s my birthday.  I plan to party like it’s my birthday, but also not really give a fuck that it’s my birthday (50 cent your wisdom knows no bounds).  Birthdays are great.  Everyone is nice to you and everyone goes out of their way to make you feel special.  And for one day out of the year you have a pretty captive audience to your existence.  As I get older I realize what makes a great birthday and even a great year is largely a matter of the people you are surrounded by. So being that I have your attention, I thought I’d take this opportunity to turn the spot light around.  The whole is rarely captured by the sum of its parts, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it to appreciate those parts.  We’re all products of our environment and experiences, and I’m not exactly different.  The value of life to me is found in what lives on.

My birthday celebration started early as this past weekend I was welcomed to a retreat by one of my good friend’s, girlfriend.  Whom, from this point on I will just refer to as my friend, cause she’s that cool.  I won’t divulge details, or go into too many anecdotes about the weekend, cause I believe those types of experiences really are meant to be just YOUR experiences in a sort of selfish, ownership way.  But I will offer one moment that stands out as representative of not only the people I know, but the people they know too.  A simple evening dinner with great food and music was quickly turned into a birthday recognition as a cupcake was placed in front me and everyone began to sing the song we sing on birthdays.  In that moment I looked around at the people singing the loudest version I have heard in my 28 years of existence, and with only 2 people there that I’ve known prior to just a few weeks ago, I had a realization.  My people are great.  I use the term “people” to avoid needing to categorize friends, family, acquaintances,  et al.   You know you’re surrounded by a good bunch of people in life when all they do is begot more great people.  And that’s what hit me at that moment.  Here I was, someone that 80% of the party had barely known or just gotten to know this weekend, and they were making me feel welcomed as one of their own.  I was taken back enough that the usual moment when “Happy Birthday” seems just way too long of a song and you feel embarrassed, never happened. The song came and went in a flash and we were celebrating and dancing before I knew what happened.

I walk through life kind of aimlessly with really no cares or qualms.  As most people who get to know me, know I’ll say yes to anything.  And while this can be attributed to some open mindedness or fun personality of mine, I think it might be a better sign of the people I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by.  I honestly feel like a boy in a bubble in a good way at times when I’m so shocked at the harsh realities and absurdness of some of the people that exist in this world.  It’s because I spend my waking days surrounded by such amazing individuals that when I’m met with people who are just evil or lacking perspective I’m shocked.  My people make life, and life’s choices so easy for me.  So when confronted with a random invite to a random house, with random people I have absolutely no fear of the outcome.  I can almost guarantee it will be a great time and I will meet some great people.

When prodded for meanings and purposes in life, I tend to believe there are a few imperials that really stick for me.  I think on the most pragmatic end of things we are an evolved species given the gift of memory and the ability to learn, so knowledge is a huge key.  But past that it becomes more poetic in my mind.  Our uniqueness as animals on this planet is largely found in our ability to love.  To love friends, family, and even people we just met.  When we’re on our death beds we won’t ask to see the Eiffel Tower, or Big Ben, or the Pyramids again.  No we’ll want to see the people.  Our people that made seeing those places and things actually worth it in the first place.  So my success or lack their of in life, may leave my kid with a good life, and maybe some property or money, but most importantly if I had a kid today, I’d want to know that I was leaving him or her “my people”.  All of them.  They’re all amazing. The ones I’ve known, the ones I know now, and the ones I’ll get to know through them.  They all make up who I am today and hopefully will be. So this year on my birthday I celebrate you.  All of you whom I find to be amazing individuals.  My life, I’ll continue to live it as a celebration of, and by the people I meet.  And I’ll leave you with my all time favorite quote as it seems to embody this possibly long winded letter of gratitude, as sang by Paolo Nutini.  “It was in love I was created, and in love is how I hope I die.  Oh my.”  Oh my is right Paolo, oh my is so right.

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