Raw Girl’s Birthday Wish

Me at age five or six 🙂

Each year that passes in my life I feel I learn something new. This year I celebrate a new year of life, but it’s bittersweet because exactly a day before my birthday last year, our family buried my dear brother. Health means so much to me, it is truly a priority of mine to do everything in my power to live the most optimal life so I can be fully present in the lives of those I love. Beyond guarding your health though, life happens. We never know when our time is coming and the one thing that is for sure is that all of us want to make an indelible mark on the work in some way big or small. We want to feel that our voice is heard, that somebody saw us, and even more so that somebody loved us. In the end it’s only the love that lasts, it’s the good intentions that linger, and the selfless thought that truly counts. We can do things, and amass accomplishments all day long, but without that love, it doesn’t have the power to touch someone’s life forever. As I’m sifting through my birthday AHA! moment I am hoping that the love and desire I have to help people live the healthiest lives possible has come through to YOU.

I’ve started thinking about what I really want for my birthday. If I could list material things and lovely pleasures I would want to experience in the next week it would include things like a night out at the opera to see Don Giovanni (Kennedy Center to be exact), a hot yoga class or two, unlimited coconut water, dinner and dessert! at Pure Food and Wine, and perhaps a mini-shopping spree. Since I cannot have my brother back in physical form, which would be at the top of my list,  and I am on a budget at the moment…I’m mining for a less material birthday wish. What I have come up with thus far, is that this year, I wish to find the deepest expression of love for myself. That may sound strange but everything is to be said about true self-esteem, and being able to root your happiness in a lasting way that is not swayed by others criticisms, what job you have, what relationship you are in, what designer shoes you wear, or how much money is in the bank. It’s the kind of self-love that only can happen from being filled up in your spirit. From that and with that, really I feel anything is possible. Thank you  all for continuing to read, thank you for your comments,  your support, your letters, and your encouragement. You all inspire me to keep going and I continue to learn a great deal by showing up every week to write. This blog as come a long way in the past three years, and that in itself, is a birthday wish come true. -XoXo Raw Girl