Birthday Blessings and Lessons

*I forgot to post this yesterday but I’m just going to do so now without re-editing*

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! YAY!

I’m actually pretty excited in spite of the fact that I have fluctuated between inexplicable enthusiasm and bouts of overwhelming dread in the past few weeks at the prospect of upgrading my age. I’m not quite sure I’m ready but I have no say in the matter and at this point, I’m really grateful that I’m still alive so why not eat cake and be merry?

The dress in the pictures below is one of my favourites and I actually wore it on my birthday a couple of years ago. I literally just put it on for these pictures as I wanted something to accompany this post and I had no idea what I’d be wearing today (I still don’t if I’m honest) but hopefully I will get pictures of it so I can post them at a later date.

In the meantime, I will leave you with a collage of the shots my best friend every so kindly took of me when I visited her recently and 10 lessons I have learnt or been reminded of in the past 12 months:

1) You cannot and will not please everyone – the less I try to do so, the happier I become and less stressed I feel. It’s perfectly acceptable to be me, not an altered version of myself.

2) A healthy body and mind are invaluable – gone are the days when my genes alone would carry me through; I actually need to put some work in now but it feels good in the end.

3) It’s okay not to know – this one I have always struggled with. But not knowing what is going to happen next is part of the beauty and mystery of life.

4) Love is more than a feeling, it’s a choice – I always have and still do want passionate love but it takes more than that feeling to make a relationship work. You have to choose to love and respect one another daily.

5) Respond, don’t react – I seem to come across a lot of people who say dumb things so it’s always best to reply with silence or take time and respond instead of being quick to react.

6) Take nothing for granted – just because you can walk, talk and see today, it isn’t a given that you will be able to do so tomorrow. Similarly, even though someone is in your life today, they may not be tomorrow so appreciate the ones you love.

7) You literally learn something new daily – whether it is about yourself, about others or random / fun facts (I love random / fun facts!) Never stop increasing your bank of knowledge.

8) Success isn’t an accident – like love, it is a choice plus a combination of strategic planning, hard work and prayers! Also, hang out with successful people you can have meaningful conversations with, not those always ready and willing to bring cheap beer to your pity party!

9) Money management is very important – no further explanation needed.

10) “When it doesn’t feel right, go left” – listen to your intuition (unless you often make bad choices). Following the crowd will lead you no further than the crowd and oftentimes so called friends may not actually want what’s best for you.

*Update: Below is a little picture of the outfit I went with in the end. One of my beautiful cousins got me the red backpack featured on my birthday wish list so I decided to build my outfit around it when I saw it*