If today is your birthday,
you are possessed of a great beauty
both the seen and unseen, which, though a gift of God,
you have claimed only through some really hard work.
You have attained a wisdom that only comes
through wrestling with deep doubts and anxieties
and overcoming obsessions that have threatened
to derail the power of your life.
You have given birth to a singular blessing,
under difficult circumstances.
You have done this on your own,
yet surrounded by love.
If today is your birthday,
this day will be like every other,
though it will be a day for self-discovery,
a day in which you will be loved,
whether or not you feel it,
an auspicious day to give yourself to the world,
which will receive you with delight
despite the under-appreciation of some.
If today is your birthday
the gifts that await you today are courage,
gratitude, trust, harmony, clarity, humility
and calm resourcefulness,
and the assurance that someone loves you.
And when today is not your birthday,
these things will also be true.
—September 13, 2018