Turning 26
When I find myself contemplating birthdays, the numbers involved and their relevance, I usually come to the conclusion that the whole concept is meaningless due to the arbitrary nature of counting and the artificial, human imposed significance of whole numbers.
But then I extend my thoughts and consider the measurements and what they actually relate to. The earth’s circuit round the sun has a pretty major effect on our lives and the act of surviving another year with its four seasons is something to celebrate.
As a child, birthdays were rare and exciting events that seemed to linger over the horizon forever. Now though, it seems that I’m just coming to terms with my new age before I have to face the next yearly increment.
This year things I was wrapped up in a million other thoughts, rushing round my head trying to ensure all the thoughts, processes and plans maintained their assigned position.
I had to take a moment and realise… the artificial significance, a string of numbers, arbitrarily bracketed by 10… or 365….
This one has been good, pointed mostly in the right direction, scribing a nice arc, a trajectory through time, homing in on selected targets. Like the interplanetary robots, swinging by exciting new worlds, amplified by gravity and attraction and flung on towards the next, bigger and more unknown.
I try to recall my past birthdays, helps glue the slippery stuff of time. I remember the locations, the weather, the people and who I was.
