A note to myself on my Birthday!

6th January 2011
So you turn 36 today. Very hard to believe isn’t it! Yesterday I caught you peering into the mirror looking for tell-tale lines around your eyes and mouth and heaving a sigh of relief when you found none. You don’t really feel 36 do you? Infact, you don’t even feel thirty. Only a month back you told a good friend how delighted you are that both of you still retain the same exuberance you had when you were in your twenties.
It’s good in a way that your birthday is so close to New Years Day. Because then it can truly be a beginning of a new year, a whole year filled with endless possibilities.
Last year, was a year you wish would never come back again- all it brought with it was disappointments and totally unexpected health complications. Somewhere in that extremely stressful year, you lost your optimism and sense of fun. You became frustrated and upset when events totally beyond your control turned your life topsy turvy and scared the hell out of you. You regained a bit of your optimism by the end of the year but you are still filled with bitterness about the plans you made so painstakingly and meticulously that came tumbling down like a pack of cards.
But the last year did teach you a lot about yourself didn’t it. You realized that under that whining complaining exterior was a determination of steel and reservoirs of strength that you never knew existed. It helped you tide over the tough times and look for that ray of hope even when the night was utterly dark. I really admire the way you tried turning the disadvantages into advantages and made the best of what life handed you.
My message to you this year is Learn to accept things as they come, and stay positive when things don’t go as planned. Yes, I know, Life is not fair. Accept it and move on!
Be patient, you will get what you want; you always do, if only you would be patient. And while you wait and toil for what you want, be happy and Bloom where you are planted.
Learn to take life a little less seriously, laugh more and don’t sweat the small stuff. And by the way, it IS all the small stuff! And while you are at it, try to control that prodigious temper of yours a bit!Learn the art of diplomacy, it’s high time you did. I know you love your sarcastic sense of humor a lot but tone it down a bit will you! Especially at work!
It’s never too late to fulfill your dream (you know what I am talking about), so roll up your sleeves and get down to work right now!
Never lose your sense of adventure and fun, Keep up the zest for travelling and exploring new places. Keep reading, keep learning new things, make new friends and pick up the threads of old friendships.
My simple wish for you this year is Be Happy. This is going to be an exhilarating year. A year filled with sunshine, laughter, good friends, good books, lots of travel and infinite possibilities. Enjoy it and celebrate each day!

Happy Birthday Ruch ! The best is yet to come!