Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm* is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.
-Henry Ford

*Enthusiasm (en·thu·si·asm ) noun:
- intense or eager interest; zeal; fervor
- something arousing such interest or zeal
Etymology: Greek enthousiasmos: to be inspired, be possessed by a god, inspire; enthous, entheos, possessed by a god; en: in, theos: god

Control

“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”
-Brian Tracy

Flexible

Inflexibility is what makes things brittle and easy to break. Look at a tree and a blade of grass in a wind-storm. The trees are more likely to break while the grass just waves in the wind.

The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.
-James Yorke

Grow

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations." -Anais Nin

And so, a birthday is a celebration of many things in various orbits.

Instant

Your whole life can change in an instant.

How your respond to that change is what matters.

I suggest celebrating the instantaneous changes and finding the beauty in the Plan B. And at the risk of sounding redundant, remember that everything happens for a reason.

Fly

You got to learn how to fall
Before you learn to fly
And mama, mama it ain't no lie
Before you learn to fly
Learn how to fall

You got to drift in the breeze
Before you set your sails
It's an occupation where the wind prevails
Before you set your sails
Drift in the breeze

Oh and it's the same old story
Ever since the world began
Everybody got the runs for glory
Nobody stop and scrutinize the plan
Nobody stop and scrutinize the plan

You got to learn how to fall
Before you learn to fly
The tank towns they tell no lie

Before you learn to fly
Learn how to fall

-Paul Simon

Friend

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
- Anais Nin

A friend is someone whose happiness is imperative to your own. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. Someone who has your back and you theirs. A friend is someone to be celebrated, enjoyed, and appreciated.