I didn't want a birthday party- I was turning 70, a milestone year in anyone's life, and I wished to experience it as simply and quietly as possible.My family felt otherwise and my wife suggested that instead of a "birthday party" with connotations of excess and going overboard, we refer to the event as a "Gratefulness Gathering." I agreed and indeed the occasion was extraordinary ; friends and family came together, ate and drank, shared their friendship and love, and made me cry with gratitude for them and my life.
Only token gifts were brought; in the spirit of gratefulness each participant was encouraged to donate something to a charitable cause of their own choosing. Gratefulness needed to be translated into compassion for it to be fulfilling.
Perhaps others will adopt this practice when celebrating their birthdays and discover the greatest gift of all, the gift of loving gratitude.
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