started thinking today about my birthday tomorrow.. i realized it wasnt really important to me, but to others it's a HUGE thing. why is tht?? then some other questions came into my head.. .why do we celebrate birthdays?? they only mean you're one year closer to death?? and why do we celebrate them differently in differet parts of the world?? in america, the moment you're born your 1 month or whatever, in korea, when you're first born you're 1 yr old.. y is tht??what is the point of a birthday if it means you're that much closer to you're death?? do you really want to know tht u spent another year of your life doing whatever it is you do?? tht you're one year closer to your death?? i dont think i do..
1 comment:
Stacie,
Happy Birthday!!! This is so weird… you mentioned turning 1 year old, and on Sept. 27th (yesterday) my son Soren turned one!
Anyway, a couple hundred years ago, when infant mortality rates were high, first birthdays (and most childhood birthdays) were a big deal and cause for celebration because the person turning a year older had AVOIDED death for another year… they had SURVIVED another year… and that to me seems like a great reason to celebrate!
On the other hand, death is one of the facts of life that people don’t seem to spend much time thinking about. Many existential philosophers believe that we must understand the value of life within the context of death… not to say that we should dwell on death, but we should be willing to judge our own life within the reality that it will end in death.
I like your question, “do you really want to know tht u spent another year of your life doing whatever it is you do??” I believe that if a lot of people were honest with themselves while reflecting on their birthdays, they might realize that they have accomplished little or nothing of any real significance during the past year of their lives… …quite a depressing thought. And yet, life doesn’t have to be that way… what if a birthday was a celebration that someone not only survived another year on this earth, but they lived that year to the FULLEST… … that they are another year closer to the true potential of who they could be?
That to me seems like the best reason of all to celebrate someone’s life!
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