It’s my birthday today!
Happy birthday to me
happy birthday to me
happy birthday dear me
happy birthday to ME!
The first thing I thought about when I woke up was:
How did I get to be this old!
Blimey!
I still feel 17 in my head
And then I remembered one of my favourite videos: Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen’.
I wanted to share some it with you.
Most people think Baz wrote it, but it’s based on the words written by a woman who imagines the inspirational lecture someone gives to the class of 1999.
It has some of the best life advice ever!
It starts with the words:
Wear sunscreen.
It goes on:
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it!
I wish someone told me that when I grew up in Sydney and roasted as a fair-skinned child! I am now sprouting the sunspots I am cursed with from my youth!
Anyway. that’s not my point.
Best life advice
It’s after the music kicks in that the message really hits home today with words like these:
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.
You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded.
But, trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back on photos of yourself and recall in a way that you ccan’t grasp now, how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine!
Self-worth
When I think back to when I was in my twenties, I remember being insecure about my frizzy hair, my freckles or whatever else I was told as a woman made me not good enough: you are not skinny enough, not pretty enough – not good enough.
But, when I look back at those photos of me now, I think:
How did I not get how beautiful I was?
Youth is wasted on the young, I’ll tell you!
When I woke up this morning and for a split second had angst about being 50-something, I decided to remember this advice.
When I am in my 70-something, I will look back to photos of me today and think the same thing:
How did you not get how beautiful you are?
Besides, no-one else notices the imagined flaws you see. When they look at you they don’t zero in on the bits of hair you think are out of place.
They see the whole person and your soul inside – how your face lights up when you smile.
So, today I am going to change my mindset as it’s all perspective.
Not feeling good enough is a narrative we have in our head that’s not true. I am going to embrace the fact that at whatever age I am, I am good enough.
There are some other great pieces of life advice in this video that I love and swear by as my mantra today such as:
Do one thing every day that scares you
And the one more relevant one to me, given my story as a domestic violence survivor:
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Body confidence
When it comes to body image think of this:
Enjoy your body, every way you can.
Don’t be afraid of it or what anyone else thinks of it.
It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.
And I’ll leave you with this one:
Do not read beauty magazines. They’ll only make you feel ugly!
Today, on my birthday, my gift to you is this video and I hope you’ll also heed its advice.
I wish you will look upon yourself with kindness and find the self-confidence to know you are good enough at whatever age you are.
Now, I’m off for some birthday champagne!
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