Thursday, July 1, 2010

a very merry unbirthday



today is july 1. by the end of this month i'll be 59, assuming i live that long. so i'm taking the entire month as my mostly un-, then for real, birthday.

well, why not? who knows if i'll make it 'til 59? i don't.

so i decided to celebrate every day this month, just because it's another day.
i'm going to rollick, frolic and cavort, take photos of damn near everything, lose the censor in my head, laugh a lot. i'm going to explore new realms-geographic, emotional, physical, mental, spiritual. i'm going to act like i'm alive, and the world is mine for the asking.
sounds like fun, doesn't it?

"life is an emergency case! where is the emergency? is it a particular situation, one day of your life? no,every moment of every day is an emergency.
you have to do your best to face every moment, because this moment will never come again."
--each moment is the universe
-dainin katagiri

i invite you all to participate. it's your unbirthday, too, you know!

c'mon, it's just one month. we did poetry month, didn't we? well, kass
did.

here's the plan.
for this month:
1. every day, say yes to something you would ordinarily decline. hell, say yes to everything! if you can't say yes right then, negotiate until you can.

2. at least once a day, do something in any creative sphere. that includes breathing. you are all multi-talented, just pick. take a photo, write a few words, build a card tower, sing, laugh, tell a joke, knit a doily,
WHATEVER!

3. forgive everything. e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

4. when you open your eyes in the morning, wonder what good is coming your way.

5. then find it.

are you getting the picture?

there's a buddhist saying: happiness is easy: want what you have, don't want what you don't have. so what if we choose to want that ache in the back, the age we are, the amount of money we have, the stories about our history we hold on to? what if we embrace all, ALL, that is our life? then what? what happens?


feel free to add to the list. post your experiences, or don't. play along, publicly or privately.

this is my unbirthday present to you.





9 comments:

  1. Happy happy joy joy my friend. Since my 56th is this month I will join you in your unbirthday celebration from far off Virginia. Before going to bed each night program your subconscious by telling it what you need.

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  2. tag, i didn't know we shared a birthday month! thanks for joining in. this is the first of many good things coming my way today!

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  3. I join you whole and hole heartedly.
    Is your actual Birthday July 31st? Never mind, I'll stop by Facebook to see if you've posted it on your info page.

    WV= fartab
    I kid you not.
    Could someone put a tab on that last fart of mine? It's a keeper.

    Oops, let that one get away when I went to 'preview.'
    Now WV is reargest. Wasn't that last fart a gest in the rear, for ya?

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  4. kass, thanks for joining us for a cup of unbirthday tea! and yes, it's the 31st.

    tag, when's your big day? good things continue-one of my yoga students brought me a pastrami sandwich and potato salad!

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  5. I'm in!! my birthday is in January, but I don't mind... I'm celebrating with you.
    Love the idea... I'm going to say YES, YES and YES..
    Then I will forgive whatever even if I will not forget...
    Will take a different picture everyday and posted on my FB

    Thanks for the invite
    Happy, unbirthday to you!!!! Have a wonderful month.

    loveNlight
    Gabi

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  6. gabi,it's never too early to begin celebrating your unbirthday! thanks for becoming another candle on our unbirthday cake.

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  7. standing, I only know you from your blog and the comments you leave on other people's blogs, including mine, but you don't exactly strike me as repressed. How is your behavior this month any different from the rest of the year? Well, anyway, happy unbirthday.

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  8. kirk, no, i'm not exactly repressed.i have had difficulty relaxing enough to take things in, to soak up the joy that's available. i've been miserly with my own happiness. so, enough already. starting this month, i want to quiet the censor that lives in my head, unlock a few more doors, smile more at less, let go of the perception of burden.
    does that make any sense? i'll say more as this goes on.

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