Birthdays, More Than Candles, Cake and Champagne

I have always believed that birthdays are not just another calendar year or notch on your life dateline.   There is much more to it than blowing out candles on a special cake and drinking bubbly, both of which I love to do!

I recently celebrated another birthday about two weeks ago with much gratitude!  This time on a restaurant peniche or barge on the Seine.  I wanted the spectacular view, rather than focusing just on the food, an unusual thing for me to do!

The barge is next to the most beautiful bridge in Paris, Le Point Alexandre.   Between the Olympic and Paralympic games, the ambience was electrifying and vibrant.  A perfect night to celebrate!

For me, there is always the spiritual and existential side of our births that I feel is rarely celebrated or even thought about.  Being born into the physical earth is full of mysteries.

Birthdays are not only celebrating the date of your birth, but an opportunity to ponder and embrace these mysteries!   Birthdays give us a chance to celebrate who we are, where we have come and where we hope to go!

About every ten minutes, there was a Bateau Mouche passing by that gently rocked the barge and sometimes splashed a sprinkle of water on my legs.

It was a perfect setting, as water and bridges have symbolic meanings.  Rivers remind me of the long winding journey that the current carries us along our life path.  Water is a conduit of the Spirit, as is used in baptism.   The turbulence of wakes recalls the many upheavals we all go through.

Bridges have several symbolic meanings.  Three of these come to mind in my own life:  Connecting two separative sides, crossing a bridge to discover new territories, and bridging different thoughts and cultures.

Besides admiring Pont Alexandre for its exquisite beauty, Alexandre is the middle name of my son, now in heaven.   Celebrating next to it, was an allegoric reminder of his presence with me.

The candles we light on our cakes call upon the Holy Spirit to bless us for another year.  I like making my own birthday cakes as seen here.  An apricot cake that I indulged the next night with much joy!

I write from my own spirituality and philosophy of a therapist who continually ponders these existential mysteries.     I am sharing with you as I would with a close friend, in hopes of inspiring you to think about your own birthday.

My life’s work has centered on helping suffering others who come to me distraught, hopeless, confused and plagued with mental illness or problems that make life difficult to endure.

The grand majority of them come with little to no awareness of who they are, nor of their own uniqueness.  Consequently, they see little importance of their beingness.

Your life is unique and each one of us has a purpose or mission to carry out during our life!   You were created to be here!

 I love a bible verse that comforts me and reflects my personal convictions.    Jeremiah 1:5,   “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations”.

Therefore, giving thanks and being grateful to God for our life comes foremost to my mind on birthdays!  Birthdays are a day of gratitude!

This summer I took a course in Judaism for Christians at the College des Bernadins, taught by a local rabbi. I remember him saying that a Hebrew word can have two meanings.  He used El Shaddai as an example. El Shaddai refers to God Almighty, whereas shaddai means breasts.   Genesis : 17 in Hebrew, God refers to himself as El Shaddai, which can be interpreted as the ultimate nourishing God as that of a mother.

Great Christian mystics such as Julien of Norwich and Mechthild de Magdebourg  also wrote about the feminization of God as the nourishing mother.

Birthdays are also an occasion to give thanks to our earth mothers who brought us into the physical on our special day and to remember with gratitude the many occasions they created special birthday celebrations for us. 

I believe in celebrating birthdays at least all week.  Give yourself permission to honour your birthday in little ways too.    Remember, it is up to you to search for joy in your life!  Happiness is a choice for you to create!

In France, everyone has two celebrations; one on your birthday and your name day; that’s if it is one of a Christian saint’s name.   

The absolutely beautiful birthday roses from my daughter lasted a whole week and were an everyday reminder of her love, another reason to celebrate!