My Birthday: Joie de Vivre

I'm backdating this post to my actual birthday, even though it is going up a bit late. As you know, it's been a bit busy these last 6 weeks or so.

Anita Ekberg's famous frolick in the Trevi Fountain in Fellini's La Dolce Vita

I didn't have much time to prepare myself mentally for my birthday. But as Phineas and I were driving home from my Oktoberfest-themed birthday, I was thinking about the past year and the next one to come. I couldn't stay focused on my accomplishments and goals because my mind kept wandering to happy places and faces. And the phrase that kept coming to mind was Joie de Vivre.

I look out across the world and on my life, and I feel elated. I feel younger this year. I feel prettier. I feel more talented this year. I feel more adventurous. I feel smarter this year. I feel confident. I feel appreciated. I feel loved this year. I feel happy with me. And I don't have it all figured out, but I think that loving myself is at the heart of my happiness in the world around me. Here I am at 34, feeling more myself than I ever have before.

So this year, my birthday gift to myself is to encourage my joie de vivre, because, after all is said and done, it is the happiness and joy that makes life so sweet.