Today is my 40th birthday.
I have been asked by many people how I felt about this. They tell me their experiences, how they felt when they turned from 29 to 30 or from 39 to 40. Some of them didn’t mind it very much but are afraid of turning 50, others were very worried about their age, felt as though they are getting old and as though life was nearly over. A few said that they came close to falling into depression because of their birthdays.
Now what do I feel? I actually did not really care about my 30th birthday at all. The thought never crossed my mind that I am now ‘getting old’. Of course we are getting older but that with every day of our lives, not only once a year! I really never cared about those numbers and I actually don’t care about it now either.
I believe this is a western problem. Here in India many people have no idea in which year they were born, not to speak of their exact birthdate! My own mother and grandmother don’t even know exactly how old they are. People in the west have more stress and pressure in life in general, I believe, and that is how they also get stress when their birthday is approaching. Most of them suddenly feel old.
Another person of more than 40 years said to me ‘Yes, now I have turned 40 but I still feel so young!’ I replied ‘I don’t feel younger than I am. I actually feel my 40 years. I feel mature and I am happy that I had time to make the experiences that I have made. I don’t feel older than I am, either. I cherish the time that lies behind me and I am looking forward to what is going to come in future.’
It is true! At this age I am looking forward to a wonderful time. Some of you have asked why Ramona has not been on any of the recent pictures in my blog. The reason is that we wanted to surprise you with good news: Ramona is pregnant and now that I am forty I am going to be a father! We are so happy and looking forward that the thought of getting unhappy or depressed about my age would never cross my mind. I wanted to share this happiness with you and give you the good news that I will be father soon.
I also want to thank everybody for the many birthday wishes I already received!
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Hooray! What a happy post today! Birthday celebrations and a baby on the way! 😀
Swami, I admire your ability to live presently and peacefully. You welcome each day as a chance to live and love, no matter what your age is! Happy Birthday! And congratulations to you and Ramona! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
As we say in Israel, mazal tov! Just another step along the path.
Swami, so happy for you and Ramona. I became a father at 45 and am now in my 60s. I have never for one moment thought of my age as a limitation or obstacle to my enjoyment of living. I look forward to each new day with gratitude and exuberance. Best wishes to all three of you!
I was just thinking about this the other day, (you having a baby I mean.) Congratulations! This is excellent news.
Such a happy post! It is so nice that you are not worried or stressed about age. It is just a number! It’s so interesting though that some people don’t even know their birth date let alone year!