“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.“
– Oprah Winfrey
Each year, on her birthday, my beautiful friend Agnes takes herself on a coffee date and writes herself a letter. She captures the past year, sums up what she’s learnt and where she’s currently at. Agnes ends her letter with what she’s looking forward to in the next 12 months. I’ve always loved this idea, and although Agnes has been doing it for ages, this year, I decided to follow suit and treat myself with a birthday love letter.
Last Monday, I sat down to write after saying goodbye to Mum and Joyce. This wasn’t just any old visit, they had surprised me by driving down from Wagga to Melbourne (around a 5 hour car trip), just to take me out to lunch. Crazy – yes! Thoughtful, generous, spontaneous and fun, absolutely (that’s what we all love about them)!!
Although my heart was already full, I discovered just how lovely it is to spend some time celebrating life by reflecting on my journey over the last year. It got me even more inspired for what’s to come. In doing this, I realised that I wasn’t focused on my age (which I found to be very calming). It gave me the opportunity to shine a light on how far I’d come and how much I’d grown in just 12 short months. I even found myself appreciating any challenges I had faced as the gift in them was so clear. I’m sold on keeping this annual tradition alive. Imagine how fun it will be to read through a box of letters that celebrates your life in 10, 20, 30 years from now…
Keep celebrating the small things in your life each day.
With love,
Ingrid