My daughter sings “Happy Birthday”, everyday
Somehow out of all the songs we sing together throughout the day, “Happy Birthday” is the one she sings the most. I can’t blame her, Meena, a wonderfully talented elephant from the well-know musical “Sing”, plays in the background often when we listen to compilation videos of Tori Kelly, the voice behind the shy, sweet character. Although for her it might just be her brain replaying her memories and the melodies she resonates with, the song itself, to all of us, is really a simple song, a celebration for having made it to another year, another 365 days where we are older and wiser and our loved ones and even strangers can genuinely wish you well on the anniversary of the day you were born. Yet, I’ve found myself singing with her every time she sings it and even at times when she’s overtired or when she’s just being a toddler and unable to express herself; I sing her the 20 second melody and somehow we’re all grounded again. What a beautiful reminder. Your birthday shouldn’t be celebrated once every year. It SHOULD be celebrated every day! I could easily get annoyed and say “Okay honey, let’s sing another song”, but instead I rejoice with her. I praise that I am present. I embrace that I am alive. I am grateful to be here with her, singing at this very moment and time for all the moments after. How we take for granted being here on this earth.
How we don’t see the magic in the simple things. How we don’t realize all that we’re able to do today can change tomorrow. All of those who are here today, could not be here or near tomorrow. You don’t have to sing the song every day to feel blessed for the little or lot we have. We can start the simple act of gratitude by simply being. Every moment we live, we won’t ever live again. That second that just passed won’t be returned. That breath in the morning you took as you stretched your way out bed, was the last of it’s kind the moment it happened. Time cannot be reversed like a juke box, or how we can press rewind in our digital playlists.
We can simply recall the memories we once lived if lucky enough to record it on time; but something I learned during my career, there’s a study that says you don’t really live the moment if you’re recording it. In the attempt of trying to keep a memory alive forever, we actually aren’t there to live it. The only way to truly live, is being present. Those memories whether melancholy, glorious, joyful, are engraved in our journeys, in our souls, in our minds and in our hearts, and the beauty of that, is that it means we are alive. We are here to live them. My daughter is the emotional mature adult I need when I feel out of place. She is much wiser than her years, especially if she’s singing “Happy Birthday” to remind ourselves that we are here, alive and able to celebrate another day within the 365 days a year.
“Don't live every day as if it were your last. Live every day as if it were your first.”, Paulo Coelho
