My 40th Birthday
Wow; the big '4' '0'. I guess this is where I'm supposed to get depressed and have some kind of midlife crisis. But I really don't expect to have one of those. I look at a midlife crisis very similar to the way that I look at birthday depression in general; it has to do with a whole lot of expectations. I don't look back over my life and feel like I haven't accomplished anything because I don't want to accomplish anything. I just want to be a part of what God has accomplished.
And as I've already alluded to, I don't really have intentions or expectations regarding my birthday. Which is a lot different than the way that I used to feel about it years ago. Over a decade ago I remember "saying" that I didn't consider birthdays any big deal. But it would be more accurate to say that I pushed my expectations to be little to none because I didn't want to be disappointed. "Hope for the best and expect the worse" was a motto that I applied to many parts of my life over a decade ago.
"Faith" is the difference between now and then. I still "push" myself to not lay a lot of important on birthdays; but it's just for a different reason. I simply belief that this whole seventy, eighty, or ninety, years that I will likely live isn't 'about' me. I was created for a purpose. And as tempting as it is to think that I was created 'to' enjoy life I know that isn't it. I was created (just like everything else in creation) to have my very life point back to the one that gave me that life in the first place. And more than 'just' point that way; but to point that way in such a way that makes others go "Hmm; there's something amazing going on in that guy's life. And it's not 'him'; it's something else."
In any case my birthday today has actually been a pretty enjoyable day so far. I can only smile at my wife who would like to do more, but she just wants to rest. She's laying upstairs with my daughter. While she was resting I went on a bike ride for about an hour. I was finally able to get my bike out of storage and get it road worthy about three days ago. And so this has been only my third ride; but my longest and most enjoyable one so far.
While I was out I ran into Joshua. I didn't know that he has lived just a few blocks away from me behind Bagon Silang street. We had talked about all sorts of things as we always do. And then I also saw a small accident where a woman had fallen off the back of a motorcycle. The motorcycle was going quite slow at the time but it was still a scary situation for the woman who had taken quite a bump on the back of her head.
And then lastly I had turned right down a dead end street to see what was at the end of it. And that where I saw a couple of children playing in some of the nastiest water that I've ever seen. Not 'the' nastiest but definitely one of the nastiest streams of water. Though the provincial area of the Philippines are some of the cleanest and most beautifully unspoiled areas of the world; many of the the heavily populated cities of the Philippines are noted for their polution, especially the streams that run through the cities. These pictures don't do the pollution justice it was actually pretty nasty looking. But then in midst of all of this nastiness was one of the richest populations of minnows I had seen in one place. So perhaps it's not so bad, it just looked that way. Or perhaps those little minnows are immune to the pollution; I'm not sure.
The day's not finished yet. There are still more naps to take, perhaps a visit to the ultrasound clinic; we're due for July 2011 for those of you that don't know, and then I hope to have a nice salad this evening and have a chance to watch a movie here at home with my wife. Just a quite evening I'd like. And I was wished a happy birthday my about three or four dozen people between today and yesterday; so I've definitely not been forgotten :-)
And as I've already alluded to, I don't really have intentions or expectations regarding my birthday. Which is a lot different than the way that I used to feel about it years ago. Over a decade ago I remember "saying" that I didn't consider birthdays any big deal. But it would be more accurate to say that I pushed my expectations to be little to none because I didn't want to be disappointed. "Hope for the best and expect the worse" was a motto that I applied to many parts of my life over a decade ago.
"Faith" is the difference between now and then. I still "push" myself to not lay a lot of important on birthdays; but it's just for a different reason. I simply belief that this whole seventy, eighty, or ninety, years that I will likely live isn't 'about' me. I was created for a purpose. And as tempting as it is to think that I was created 'to' enjoy life I know that isn't it. I was created (just like everything else in creation) to have my very life point back to the one that gave me that life in the first place. And more than 'just' point that way; but to point that way in such a way that makes others go "Hmm; there's something amazing going on in that guy's life. And it's not 'him'; it's something else."
In any case my birthday today has actually been a pretty enjoyable day so far. I can only smile at my wife who would like to do more, but she just wants to rest. She's laying upstairs with my daughter. While she was resting I went on a bike ride for about an hour. I was finally able to get my bike out of storage and get it road worthy about three days ago. And so this has been only my third ride; but my longest and most enjoyable one so far.
While I was out I ran into Joshua. I didn't know that he has lived just a few blocks away from me behind Bagon Silang street. We had talked about all sorts of things as we always do. And then I also saw a small accident where a woman had fallen off the back of a motorcycle. The motorcycle was going quite slow at the time but it was still a scary situation for the woman who had taken quite a bump on the back of her head.
And then lastly I had turned right down a dead end street to see what was at the end of it. And that where I saw a couple of children playing in some of the nastiest water that I've ever seen. Not 'the' nastiest but definitely one of the nastiest streams of water. Though the provincial area of the Philippines are some of the cleanest and most beautifully unspoiled areas of the world; many of the the heavily populated cities of the Philippines are noted for their polution, especially the streams that run through the cities. These pictures don't do the pollution justice it was actually pretty nasty looking. But then in midst of all of this nastiness was one of the richest populations of minnows I had seen in one place. So perhaps it's not so bad, it just looked that way. Or perhaps those little minnows are immune to the pollution; I'm not sure.
The day's not finished yet. There are still more naps to take, perhaps a visit to the ultrasound clinic; we're due for July 2011 for those of you that don't know, and then I hope to have a nice salad this evening and have a chance to watch a movie here at home with my wife. Just a quite evening I'd like. And I was wished a happy birthday my about three or four dozen people between today and yesterday; so I've definitely not been forgotten :-)
Labels: Culture and Contrast, Faith, My Family, My Story, Philippines, Self-Esteem, Spiritual Milk
posted by Timothy at 11/27/2010 02:55:00 PM
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