A wiry thin usher comes hurrying past, colorful brochures stacked high in her hand. All movements slow down. Eyes follow her trail.

The hired chief mourner quickly wipes her eyes, almost forgetting what she is there to do. ‘Pssst,” she hisses, and raises her forefinger to show that she wants a copy of the brochure.

A dignified looking couple does a small discreet smile at the usher, and she gravitates towards them with a smile and hands them two brochures.

A tipsy looking gentleman doesn’t care what people would say.  He stumbles to the usher and snatches one brochure as she eyes him in disgust. He is not bothered!

One member of the well-groomed group hurries towards the usher and hurries back with multiple copies of the brochures, which she distributes among the group.

Two gossips eye the usher, mischief in their eyes, accusations on the tip of their tongues. The usher is only giving the brochures to the rich.

Funerals are something else! All kinds of activities and emotions overflow that day. The brochures, which have the order of service and the biography of the deceased, are the first to get finished. There’s always some rationing activity around the distribution of the brochure. You find some people clamoring for brochure, quickly scanning through the biography and photos and deciding whether the brochure is worth keeping. Some of the biographies are so interesting that we wish we had known the deceased intimately while they were alive to learn under their feet. There were also those biographies that came across as put together in haste and grief and the life of the deceased had been reduced to a few short paragraphs with very little substance.

Haven’t you ever wondered why we usually celebrate people and learn about their achievements only after they are dead and gone?

It had us thinking. How can we change the narrative and celebrate people while they are alive and can appreciate it? Or are people too humble and uncomfortable hearing accolades while living and breathing? Why should we let the stories of people who had done amazing things, vanish into thin air, because we do not take the time to properly document our achievements.

In our musings, we realized that birthdays offer the perfect opportunity to celebrate ourselves and others, and we could do it through storytelling. We have been given the powerful tool of telling stories, one that we can use positively to leave our imprint in this world for generations to come.

Celebrating birthdays in some shape or form is an expression of thanks to God for being born and still being alive. It’s a beautiful occasion to reflect on your life and celebrate the purpose for which you were created.

You were created for a purpose and every time you celebrate a birthday, it confirms that you still have work to do. It is a sign that you have yet another chance to fulfil your unique mission. On your milestone birthdays, dream big and boldly chase after your dreams! Fulfil your unique mission on earth and tell us all about it!

The Birthday Journal Team