Birthday Ideas & Advice

Every day is the same day. Days differ only in few ways- weather conditions, sunrise and sunset time. Otherwise all the days are same. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. This has been going on since billions of years and will continue, till the cosmos collapses. Then why do we treat a day different than other? The difference is not in the day, but in our moods, wishes, outlook, frustration, meetings and non meeting achievements, failures etc. If what makes us feel good occurs on a day, we call it a great day. Otherwise, it can be called as a boring day, or a useless day or whatever.

So, why do we love our birthday? Why do we celebrate it? Why do we feel good about it? I mean most of us. For some people including myself, a birthday may be no different than any other day. So let us talk of people who celebrate their birthday. They do it because they were born on that day. Am I correct? But is their birth a cause of celebration? What have they achieved to celebrate? Billions of people inhabit the earth, so what is so great about a single person?

Coming back to the subject,these are philosophical enquiries that make us understand ourselves, and our relationship with the world better. I would say that if you are a loving person, you are a great person. No matter whether you are neither rich nor famous. I would say that if you can help a person forget his/her pain for sometime, you are a great person. I would say, if you give some money without hesitation for a cause, you are a good person. If you cheer up someone, you are a good person. If you can help the planet better even with a smallest act, you are a great person, and your birthday should be celebrated.

Our birthdays should make us think more of ourselves, our actions, our values, our integrity, our gentleness, our compassion, our goals, our desires, our helping hand, our willingness to wipe away tears and every other act or thought that can make us a better person. We must celebrate our birthday if we wish, but along with day, we must add one more positive quality to ourselves. That will give us greater happiness than any other celebration. One feels worthy and good, only if one is really so. We can fool people in to believing that we are good, but we cannot fool ourselves. For getting happiness in our heart, we must ourselves feel that we are good. Let us decide to add one good quality to us on our birthday and let us celebrate it. Better, let us decide to do one good act everyday. No happiness will match that happiness, because happiness cannot be bought or borrowed. We feel happy and good about ourselves, only if we have self-esteem that comes only from doing good acts.

Birthdays are generally associated with celebrations. Partying, receiving good wishes, gifts and holidaying without any care in the world. These are the main themes of everyone’s birthday. But what if I am asked to talk to God on my birthday? I will speak thus:

God, thank you very much for bringing me in this world. Without your wish, I would not have been here. God, I also thank my parents for bringing me to this world with your blessings. I am especially obliged to my mother for taking my care when I was inside her body. God, I thank my father for showing me how to live in this world and being with me in my early days. God, today, I thank everyone who has played any role in helping me in my life till today. I also thank the earth, the sky, the nature and everything without which the life would be no where.

God, I also apologize to everyone today. I might have knowingly or unknowingly hurt many people in my life. I apologize to them. God, I might have done many wrong things in my life but I have also done few good things with your guidance. God, I am proud of my achievements and myself. I know that I may not get all that I want and may not reach all of my goals, but with your guidance I will try to achieve as many of them as possible. I want to contribute in a small way to make this world a better place. Please guide me about that. What should I do so that I get inner satisfaction of doing something for the society.

God, on my birthday today, I wish to remove all anger, hatred, jealousy, envy and every other negative emotion from my heart. I want to cleanse my heart and refill it with feelings of love and joy. God, please help me celebrate my birthday this way. God, Thank you.