Celebrating with a bang!

Today is my birthday, and to celebrate I’m having not one but two weekends of festivities, which actually started the Saturday night just gone, when I went to see a fantastic firework display with a very dear friend. It was one of the biggest displays in Suffolk – perhaps the biggest – and it was while watching this awesome display, set to music, that I realised what a good reminder fireworks are to live in the now. Being present to this very moment is never more important than when watching a display of fireworks, as if you look away, or are thinking something else in your mind and not really focusing on what is going on, you miss all the beauty. I did try to record some of it on camera, but only a minute or two as I realised that by doing so, I was missing the joy of seeing the beautiful cascades and explosions as they happened. At other times, although I was looking up, I found myself lost in thought about something completely unrelated. But I caught myself doing it, and kept bringing myself back to the present moment, and trying to empty my mind as much as possible so as to truly enjoy the display before me.

For fireworks, once exploded, are gone in seconds. Perhaps they are also a reminder for us of how beautiful and incredible life can be, but how fleeting it really is, and so to live each moment with full awareness as much as possible. This pledge to make this my daily, hourly, minute-by-minute practise from now on (well, as much as possible!).

I also got to spend the weekend doing something else I love: spending time with my family. This began at my grandparents’ house, where gran and I baked her special cookies and also some buns for me to bring in to work today (thanks gran!). This took me back to my childhood days, as it probably at least 20 years ago that I last donned a pinny and made fairy cakes!

Later, I had a roast dinner with my parents, brother and sister-in-law, and watched the Sunday night pre-requisite of the Strictly and X Factor finals. So, though my weekend was relatively low-key in terms of events, distance travelled etc, it was one of the best, as I was with loved ones. And what can be better than that? For while it is great to live in the now, and be present to what is going on (the present is a present, after all!) it’s also nice to reminisce about happy memories. May there be many more to come!

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