A few years ago, a dear friend, Susan Fine, spent numerous amounts of time, energy and resources to create a project from the heart for me. She went back to the very first editorial and took all of them (June 1978 thru December 1996) carefully cut them out and pasted artwork and other typefaces around each one, went to a copy shop, copied the pages and had them bound into a keepsake book for me. This was before computers and scanners were common, so it all had to be done by hand. One day she just popped into the office and presented me with her creation.

I was surprised, delighted and moved to tears because I knew how much time and love had gone into it.

I noticed it today and opened randomly to a page. It was from 1992 and I was writing about birthdays. As September is my birthday month, and I am a firm believer in nothing happens by accident, I thought the universe just might be sending me a message in the words written back then. I didn’t have to read far to find the answer, that even now seems timeless. Here are the words that resonated with me from my editorial 15 years ago.

“What do you do on your birthday each year? Birthdays are special times in all of our lives. They celebrate you and your arrival on the planet (at least this time around!)

“Some have, in the midst of their busy lives, pushed aside celebrating their special day each year. It’s for those that I am writing this piece today, because I was in that place a few years ago myself. Birthdays then were just another day, just another milestone, maybe a few cards from friends and a night out, catching a movie and dinner. But usually they came and went without much fanfare. Then something happened.

“My big change occurred through the whole self-esteem movement. I was exposed to huge quantities of everything that came out – all the books, tapes, TV, radio, articles, etc. A catharsis started happening and all of a sudden, I wasn’t the same person. I felt different somehow. Something had changed inside me. My face and body looked the same, but inside something felt different! I found that many of the things that used to upset me no longer mattered and there was a new lightness to my mind and my step. I jumped over great hurdles, some consciously and some unconsciously. I faced my fears smack in the face and went through them.

“And, you know what? I found a ‘Cindy’ worth celebrating on the other side. And I realized that birthdays, as well as all other days, are a wonderful gift to be celebrated every day that we are alive on this magnificent planet. Now, my birthdays are something I look forward to with great anticipation and joy.”

As I read these words, I realized even though the years have passed and much has changed, much remains the same… we are all still evolving beings – learning, growing, loving, hitting the speed bumps of life and going through the ups and downs. The difference is that now I know with great certainty that, for those who have chosen to explore their inner worlds, to find out about who they really are, there is much more ahead. More joy, more vibrancy, more friends to share delicious life experiences with and more wonderful things on the horizon. Dear reader, that is you, that is me, that is all of us.

So, I’ll close with the same words I did back then…

“Celebrate yourself. Go and play with the sweet innocent child you have within you. Celebrate your arrival on this planet by re-discovering your best friend… you!”