It’s my 51st birthday today. I have very little time this morning before I need to shower and get to yoga teacher training, where I’ll spend most of the day. I slept in this morning, knowing I should prioritize rest over everything else, but that meant I lost two hours I’d normally have to meditate and write and take things slow. Instead, I got up and started working on my homework for teacher training. I was finished with it on Friday, but I keep futzing with it. There’s one part I’ll have to teach later this afternoon, and I wanted to run though it one more time, fine tune it. And knowing the way I teach (one part planning, one part showing up and responding to what happens), I’ll probably change it again while I’m actually teaching.

It feels a little unfair to be making so much effort on my birthday. I’d rather stay home with Eric and the dogs, relax, maybe go see a movie, go out to eat, but what I’m doing instead is important to me too. And I really can’t complain at all because I’m taking next week off from work. Don’t feel sorry for me for one second. Do something nice for yourself instead — it’s my birthday, I make the rules today and that’s what I want, kind and gentle reader. And if you can’t think of something nice to do for yourself, do it for someone else. Ease suffering, in yourself and in the world. That’s all I ever want, no matter what day it is.