birthday offerings

ah! the day finally arrived! it is officially my birthday!
yay!
and believe me, i have been milkin' it for all its worth,
and lovin' every bit of it!

at some point in my life, i think somewhere around when i was a young adult,
when it was a birthday, my dad would ask the birthday person for a piece of wisdom.

it's now a tradition around here, on your birthday -  you're asked for birthday wisdom.

we've done this ever since the kids were little.
and since my kids have grown up with this, they actually think about it beforehand,
and offer something with sincerity. i just love that.

so i got to thinking about it a few days ago.
what would be MY birthday wisdom this year?

there's been an 'issue' running thru my thoughts for almost a month now.
i've been watching people make their struggles harder than others.
i see it a lot.
a single woman may say 'oh she's got it easier, she's married and has someone to lean on.'
or a married woman may say 'oh, she'g got it easier, she's single and can do what she wants.'
or things like 'you're a morning person, you don't mind getting up early every morning.'
or 'you're used to that, it's not hard for you.'
or 'she's got money, it's easier for her.' or 'she doesn't have all the responsibilities i have
and has it so much better.'

that kinda thing.
wow, you start listening and there's a lotta that out there.

so i started thinking my birthday wisdom would have something to do with that.
something like - DON'T DO THAT!
just know everyone has their own struggles and weights to carry and we've all got
things that are hard. don't make your life so much harder than everyone else's.

and while i think that's true and think that's important, i didn't want it to be my wisdom.
it felt true but negative.and not really something i was too concerned about. while i do
this a bit here and there, it's not a big part of my personality. i've just been kinda
amazed at how much i'm seeing it.

so i got to thinking about what really mattered to me right now -

and i think it's the two feet in thing.
the living with two feet in.

i can't really give any wisdom about it because i don't know how to do it.
i tend to hit rough spots and curl back into a ball and tuck my feet in and hide.

but i've been consciously thinking on it and trying to be aware of it.
and i think that in itself has been helping. i feel like i've been more present and aware.

and i'm seeing that there's got to be gratitude and respect for just living.
just the whole process. the respect for the hard and the sad as much as for the
good and the happy. and the gratitude for the whole package.

i see that's really vital in the two feet in thing. i think maybe because if you respect
the process of life, maybe it's easier to be part of it? don't know. will have to think harder on
what exactly i mean by 'respect.' slippery word there.but there's a feeling in there
that feels right.

and then i thought of the other thing that i started out mentioning -
the figurin' everyone's got it easier than you.
that goes completely against the whole respect and gratitude thing here for the two feet in.

and i smiled.
of course it does.

you can't be concentrating on your struggles and comparing them with others
and convincing yourself you've got it worse than everyone else and live two feet in.
you just can't.

so that much i can offer -

gratitude helps your feet leap.

and the vague misty idea that respecting this life helps us live it.

i think that's what i have this year........
and i certainly plan to spend the day two feet in!
with complete gratitude for the gift of being here.