Tomorrow, July 1, is my 39th birthday. Which means, from 4:21pm onwards, I will be experiencing my 40th iteration of each Tuesday, each specific sunset, each winter solstice… until it culminates in my 40th completed year in 2027.
It's staggering to me that this is my 40th year of living. I remember my mother, incredulous, saying "There's no way you can be 30… I am not old enough!" nine years ago… and yet it seems only moments.
I look back on my younger years. Most of them were spent in fear. In abject terror. I was afraid of myself, of the world, of who I was inside. I desperately wanted to escape, to hide, to disappear.
Since then, I have learned greater self-worth. I have learned that I am worthy of loving. I have learned that I am a beautiful soul and deserve a place on this planet. It has been a long journey to truly believe such.
I don't know what these next years will bring—but I am dedicated to living each moment in the coming weeks and days as bravely, enthusiastically, and openly as I can. To love more, forgive more freely, to practice being kind even when people are shmucks, to take things less seriously. To let go. To flow more.
To thank the universe each day for this gift of human life. For, even in these crazy times, to live is still a tremendous blessing.
I am so grateful for the love I have given and received. The beautiful souls who have taught me and inspired me so freely — and those I have hopefully inspired in return. To most days dwell in a place of love.
I am so tremendously grateful for this life. And that's not something I could have said not that many years ago.
So, if you are still reading this… thank you. Thank you for being part of my story and my journey. May you find love, blessings, and beauty on your road. May you have good company to journey beside. And may you feel loved.
Happy birthday to me. My wish, as I blow out the proverbial candles, is to share that gratitude for life that I have found with all of you. May you thrive and prosper. May you be brave and do the right thing even when it's hard.
May you know your worth.
In love, Kaelan