This Birthday My Only Wish Is This

So this year, I don’t need gifts, I don’t need money, and I don’t need praise.

Note: I wrote this to myself on March 21, 2024

There is peace in Presence.

Today, I decided to frame every experience I have going forward in a way that empowers me.

This is a big step for someone who can get emotionally yo-yo’d by the ups and downs of life’s ever-changing circumstances. And an even bigger ask for me to bear the weight of this responsibility moving forward.

But it’s my birthday. And I finally realized. The external acknowledgment I’ve spent at least one-third of my life searching for, hoping for people to see me for who I truly am, was a misguided attempt for me to see myself.

So, I’m gifting myself the Power of Presence. And in doing so, freeing myself from the shackles of external validation.

Real love, fake love, fleeting, who knows. What I do know, is that my love for life is Pure and undying. This is something I can care for. This is something I can nurture.

And as such, the best thing I can give to myself today is gratitude.

I usually reflect on my birthday. It’s a time when I account for what I have done with my life thus far and where I am in relation to where I want to be. And while I am still sifting and sorting through the multitude of changes, decisions, and actions I have made over the years that have fashioned me into who I am today, the awareness of the significance of this Present Moment has dawned on me.

Time does not move backward.

And each opportunity I have to Be better is shrouded in chaos, waiting.

Waiting for me to dig deeper within myself, revealing the buried potential of greatness.

All I am truly tasked with is setting the condition by which I can reach for my best amongst the uncontrollable circumstances brought on by life in reality.

I am actually thankful. I used to find myself talking a good game to mask the feelings of resistance and opposition I was sitting in at the time.

Today, I experience the Truth behind the words that I utter.

“What is best for me?” I ask.

And how can I prioritize that understanding in opposition to how I feel about what I am currently experiencing?

And in the purity of my openness to understand, I was given the key.

“Follow your heart,” I hear something softly whisper in my ear.

“It knows the way.”

And now I’m here. After years of running around lost and confused, I have managed to find direction. On my birthday, nonetheless.

I am thankful for the guidance of Love and my Inner Being that has kept me safe when I had no idea of my potential or what was at stake.

I am thankful for every opportunity to Be the best I can be, I recognize and capitalize on.

I am most thankful for choosing the Truth in Love rather than the continued path of denial and self-censorship.

So this year, I don’t need gifts, I don’t need money, and I don’t need praise. This time, Life, and Love have given me the greatest gift of all… Liberation and Inner Alignment.

Thank you so much for reading the journal entry on my birthday. I wanted to share this with you all to promote self-awareness and insight into what you truly need from yourself. As always, I am grateful for your time. Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section!

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