Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Birthdays are important.  Mine included.  Tho' it falls precariously between Christmas and New Year in recent years I have thrown caution to the wind and marked this thing called the ageing process on or close to the day itself trusting that whomsoever should be there will be there.

And so it was this year...  I celebrated my birthday amongst family and friends.  It was a lovely evening during which we shared good food, yummy cakes, and laughter.  Sitting around a large oval table were 18 very important people, each of whom has played a significant part in making the last year a special one.

When seeking to gather a group for such a purpose, one must be wise to the fact that life happens and plans change:  I was not to know exactly how many people would be attending until the day, and that was fine.  There are things that merit worrying about.  This was never to be one of them.  For things, I have found, more often than not, work out for the best...

The number eighteen is considered auspicious in China where it is associated with future success and prosperity.  In the Hebrew system that ascribes numerical value to words, the word for life (or 'chai') has the value of 18, making this a particularly favourable number, indicative of a long life.

I know my life is richer for each and every one of those with whom I had dinner.  Individually, and as a group, these are my friends:  the people who make me the person I am.  Looking backwards and looking forwards, birthdays prompt reflection and, to my mind, appreciation.  My friends are those I journey alongside.  They help me, and guide me.  At times, they have supported, and carried me.  They have been there, and that's really what the evening was conceived of to acknowledge.

Age is a number.  It represents something but not, I think, very much.  It is a record of a goalpost I have passed, but fails to do justice to the journey along the way.  And, as it is the journey that interests me, the number concerns me not.

I am comfortable with my age.  Had I responded to my sister's spontaneous sharing from the heart, I might have said something along the lines that I am genuinely happy to be the age I am:  these years have been the opportunity to make relationships and within them learn about myself and about what makes life precious.

Life is short.  Too short to mourn the passing of time.  And too short not to celebrate the now.

Earlier this week, someone shared with me something I had, since its launch in 1998, hitherto failed to notice - the inscription on the £2 coin:  STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS.  My friends are the giants whose shoulders I stand upon, to get a better perspective.  These extraordinary people offer me so much more than they probably know and feature prominently on my gratitude list each and every day.

I returned home laden down with gifts and cards, feeling utterly spoilt, and somewhat overwhelmed.  To have so many of one's loved ones in a room is a powerful and amazing thing.  I struggled to find the words I sought with which to thank everyone for being there:  not just on that evening, but always.