I thought I was making posts regularly celebrating my life, so I was surprised to discover that the last one I posted was in 2021. Maybe I just don't want to be reminded that I'm getting old, huh? 😁

I am 36 now. Acknowledging that fact makes me feel old, indeed. 🥲 I have been feeling it in my joints and in my energy, especially this year. When I got into a relationship with someone (way) younger than me, I really felt the stark contrast in energy, whether it be mental or physical. Yes, my physical body is getting older, but my soul feels the same.

This year was particularly challenging for me, so I really wanted to celebrate my life and honor myself. I finished reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis on the night of the eve of my birthday, and those last few pages struck a chord in my heart. I received the greatest gift in my life -- I welcomed and received Jesus back into my life. As a Taylor Swift lyric goes -- "It's been a long time coming." More context on this on an individual post about an Alpha Series session. 😊

And so, my birthday came. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a leave, so I went to work as usual that day. By the afternoon, I was beginning to feel down. 😔 I was like -- really this is how I am going to celebrate my birthday after all the things that happened this year? Well, a light-bulb moment came to me, and spontaneously, I drove outside and took myself on a birthday date. 🥰

I took myself to dinner.  I have been eyeing this one restaurant that I wanted to dine in for the longest time, and on my birthday, I finally did it! ✨ Going to a table for one on your birthday might sound depressing, but surprisingly it didn't feel as bad as I thought it would, experiencing it myself. I felt comfortable in my own company. I was having a silent conversation with myself, and I liked that. I also bought a cake (of course!). I seldom have cakes on my birthday because the folks at home cannot eat sweets. If I do buy one, I would end up eating it all by myself, which I don't like either. So this experience made it extra special. 🍰✨

I bought flowers. 💐 This year, I discovered that receiving flowers from someone special made me feel all giddy and warm inside. So why not give it to myself? I'm my own best friend, right? 😁 Again, this might look awkward or nonsense, but when I did it for myself, I felt that same comforting feeling. I felt the love that I was pouring out to myself.

I went for a massage. 💆‍♀️I wanted to further pamper myself, so what better way to do this than getting a full-body massage? I went to that same place as last year and had a wonderful experience again. 

I went home feeling beautiful and happy. 🥰 I felt that warm cozy feeling of positive energy. I now consider this day as a celebration not just of me physically being born into this world, but also in the spiritual sense, because I have renewed by faith, yet again.

As I carry on this new belief from this paradigm shift, I pray that I will always be guided. I thank the Universe for this day. I truly felt like I spent my birthday well, honoring myself and honoring life. Well, that's what birthdays are all about, right? And so, I'm dedicating this 1,000th post in this blog to celebrating ✨ME✨! I'm so proud of you, self. You've come a long way, indeed.🫂