Birth

I have a friend. I will call him T, because that’s his first initial, and that’s how I – D – roll on this blog. It’s T’s birthday today. Happy birthday, T!

There are lots of great things about my friend. I work with him, and my favorite thing about him, in a completely selfish way, is that he is so easy to work with. He’s smart, kind, funny, and so extremely hard working that it baffles me. He goes from plane to school to plane to school making this world a better place. And he never draws attention to himself. I am fairly sure he would hate that I am writing this blog post, because he never wants anyone to make a big deal about his birthday or about him.

But it is his birthday today, which got me thinking about something that will probably offend a lot of people. I don’t claim to be in the business of offending people. But sometimes, me, we, all of us, may need to be offended, so that we can live as the people we were truly meant to be. Or so I think. So here goes.

T was born today. So were thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people maybe, still living on earth here and now, with a chance to hope, dream, give, be. Tens of thousands of people were born on this day, people who are now somewhere else in eternity, and they made the human race a part of what it is right now.

And the rest of us, whose birthday it is not, we’re here too! Here or there, having contributed or having still the opportunity to contribute.

Last year I forgot why the flags of my country - the geographical space within this created universe where I was born one unseasonably warm day in February - were at half-mast on this day. I did. I remember looking out at the brilliant late summer sky and marveling at the sun behind one such flag mast and being thankful for the beauty of life.

I’d imagine that experience is available to all of us, today and most any given day. To connect to the reality of it all. That we live and we die, but we’re blessed if, no matter when or how or where we die, we have been fully alive, we have known God, and we have witnessed a glimpse of God’s majesty as mortals.

We’re blessed when we know in our hearts that there’s more love in the birth of one child than there will ever be hate in the truly hateful act that killed 2,996 on this day. And - this is so important to consider - that there’s so much more beauty in the cultures of the people who killed and the people who perished than there will ever be ugliness.

So please honor today by living in a spirit of gratitude for what beauty we all get to have in the time given us.

And if you happen to see my buddy, tell him “Happy Birthday!”