Turning 30
It’s cool to think that our minds our time travelers.
While our bodies are in the present and moving constantly into the future, our minds can move from the past, to the future, to the present, to the past again and the present again in a few seconds.
I once heard Jody Moore refer to her past, present, and her future self as her closest friends. You could tell she genuinely loved all three versions of herself. She talked about how even though her past self had made plenty of mistakes, she was a good teacher, did a lot of good, and was the one who established a foundation she could grow from. She talked about how her present self was joyful and alive, and she talked about how her future self knew what was coming next and was a great example.
I hope we can all learn to love the past, present, and future versions of ourselves. We need to forgive our past selves, live in the moment, and believe in our future selves. So many of us are looking back with overwhelming and unnecessary amounts of shame. Others of us feel paralyzed looking at the distance between themselves and who they want to be. Our pasts and our futures have a lot to offer us. Instead of pushing them away, we can bring them along and allow them to offer the wisdom they long to share.
This morning my dad told me a funny story about when he turned 30. He said that when my grandpa called him to tell him happy birthday he wasn’t very excited. When my grandpa asked him what was wrong my dad said, “My life is halfway over.” To that my 60 year old grandpa said, “I guess I should be dead then. Happy birthday son.” and hung up the phone.
Whether we are 3, 16, 30, 60 or 101 let’s just decide together to believe in our fabulous infinite life.
This year I’m inviting my inner Floraline Maria, Daphne Reynolds, Pocahontas, and Jo March to hop on the 2023 train. I’m giving tickets to the curious 10 year old me, the loving 13 year old me, the joyful 16 year old me, and the strong 25 year old me. No one will be left behind. I bought them all first class tickets.
This year I’m going to dance, do more yoga, get in the sun, eat good food, love my family, deepen my friendships, make art, help more children, and grow as much as I can so that next year the birthday gift to my soul will be a stronger mind, kinder heart, and more capable body.
It’s going to be a great year! Happy birthday to me!