Twenty Six

Twenty six.

Twenty six years.

Or as I like to think, twenty six gold stars for making this far in life. 

I earned every gold star for the lessons I learned, for the achievements I took pride in, for the failures I bemoaned over, and for the stories I made during the journey I took around the Sun.  

I am growing older in the form, but my soul is growing lighter and I am feeling younger. 

Looking back to the twenty-six years I've spent on this earth, I am incredulous to see how my life has turned out. 

As a child, I dreamt of traveling the world, of growing up into a kind of woman who is madly in love with her life, and particularly a lifetime filled with unimaginable adventures. 

And whoa. I am now living out my childhood dreams. I am living a life that would astonish and delight the child I once was.

What a relief to have managed to live up to this little child's high expectations! 

However, of course, my life is not beyond perfection. I have not found peace in my life. I am still being too hard on myself for desiring so many things and for not getting everything I thought I wanted. 

I am still learning. I am still living. I am still searching.

Yet, the longer I am alive, the more excited I am to recognize that I am indeed growing wiser, more accepting and even more peaceful. Life begins to feel more right and more aligned to the deepest parts within myself. 

Now I am turning my attention to you, my reader, my supporter, and my friend.

Without you, a piece inside me will not be made. Without you, a thought will not occur to me. Without you, an emotion will not inhale and exhale within me. 

You, every one of you, taught me something about life.

Some of you slowed me down and slapped me in the face to humble me, giving me new insight about the true meaning of love. 

Some of you stirred me up into discovering my inner gifts and then nurtured these gifts to allow me to share them with the world. 

Some of you blessed me with your kindness and wisdom and gave me the courage to face life. 

Some of you held my hand tightly, holding my heart in your hands, guiding me to trust and love more than I thought I could. 

My teachers. My guides. My friends. My loves. 

You, you, you, and you, you all inspired me. 

Without you, I will not be what I am at this very moment. 

I am very proud, very honored and very blessed to have the opportunity to connect my life with yours and to allow this connection to awaken something within me. 

Today is my birthday, but it is also the day  I celebrate your contribution to the making of my life, the making of me.

I thank you for partaking a role during my twenty-fifth year around the Sun.

You, each one of you, have changed a part within me that makes all the difference in the world I am seeing before my own eyes. Each of you deserves my gratitude. Each of you played your role wonderfully and I am delighted to be blessed by your presence. 

All of you have brought me this far in this life.

All of you gave me many reasons to celebrate my existence and to be so excited about my upcoming twenty-sixth journey around the Sun.

Thank you.