Happy Birthday today, to me! What a charmed life I have, able to give myself the best gift – a day off, completely unscheduled… this has got to be one of the best perks of being self-employed (and not starving)!
Birthdays are meant for counting our blessings (of which I have a ton), rejoicing with prayers of gratitude, and saying mahalo e ha‘aha‘a (thank you within humility) to as many people as we can, for no life lived got that way as a solitary affair. Somebody helped. Lots of bodies helped! So I have a glorious day ahead, where I am free to talk story with the people who mean so much to me, saying thank you for all they so wondrously add to this life I celebrate today.
I like the way that writer Kristin Hunter phrases it:
“First it is necessary to stand on your own two feet. But the minute a man finds himself in that position, the next thing he should do is reach out his arms.”
White magnolia by tanakawho.
If you have a moment to share a comment with me today, leave a quote with us that you will keep close to you when your birthday comes, and tell us when that glorious day will be! All spirit spilling is welcomed here, for it is part of you, and thus part of aloha.
Mahalo for sharing my day with me!
Rosa
Postscript:
This was the gift I gave myself last year...Tim Milburn was the somebody that helped!
Oh happy birthday Rosa! What a happy day. I'm so glad you are celebrating your birthday with us in this way.
This is a wonderful quote you have shared with us.
“First it is necessary to stand on your own two feet. But the minute a man finds himself in that position, the next thing he should do is reach out his arms.”
Thank you so much for reaching out your arms to me. I'm reaching back. (It's a hug!)
Joanna
Posted by: Joanna Young | April 23, 2008 at 12:55 AM
Happy Birthday, Rosa! May all your birthday wishes come true :D
(I came here from Joanna's tweet)
Posted by: pelf | April 23, 2008 at 01:00 AM
Happy Birthday lovely Rosa! Goodness so many of my favourite people have April birthdays :-)
As for a quote that I carry with me, it's 'No snowflake falls in the wrong place'. It reminds me that I am always exactly where I should be, and the opportunities, challenges and blessings that I experience are all there to be embraced and enjoyed.
Have a beautiful day, Rosa, and thank you for being such a positive force in my life.
Posted by: amypalko | April 23, 2008 at 01:05 AM
Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Rosa, Happy Birthday to You!!!!
Rosa, many many happy returns and I hope you have a beautiful day. You truly deserve the best that life has to offer...
Here is a quote I offer to you as my little gift on your special day
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable."
— Helen Keller
To me, you embody the definition of free spirit and show us the way to live life as a daring adventure. And that is a very precious gift you give all of us, every single day. I wish you such precious gifts to show your generous spirit how much we all care about you.
Karen xx (with hugs)
Posted by: Karen Wallace | April 23, 2008 at 01:09 AM
Aloha and Happy Birthday, Rosa!
(I just looked 'aloha' up and someone says it means: I recognise the same breath of life within you ... not sure how accurate that is but it's a lovely thought!)
Thank you for sharing that fab quote and your picture is breath-taking too.
have a wonderful birthday!
:o)
Posted by: Dianne | April 23, 2008 at 01:16 AM
Oh I forgot a quote (thank you everyone for sharing, they're all lovely!)This is my current favorite:
"My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement" by Patricia, in Joe Versus the Volcano.
(Though I have been lucky enough to meet lots of very wakeful, amazed and amazing people recently!)
:o)
Posted by: Dianne | April 23, 2008 at 01:31 AM
Though I have already sent birthday wishes privately, let me add to what will I'm sure be a huge list of well wishers here.
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y R O S A!
I hope your unscheduled day is more wonderful, more refreshing and more joyous than you can imagine.
With love,
Kevin :)
Posted by: Kevin Eikenberry | April 23, 2008 at 01:33 AM
Happy Birthday Rosa!! The world is a better place because of you.
Have a wonderful day!
Todd
Posted by: Todd Storch | April 23, 2008 at 02:04 AM
Happy Birthday, Rosa!
One of my favorite quotes for you today:
Every little day the world's brand new, the sun comes up and the clouds roll through. Everything else is just up to you. Every little day the world's brand new. Greg Greenway
Enjoy!
Posted by: Steve Sherlock | April 23, 2008 at 02:24 AM
Rosa, I forgot to gift you a quote.
Here's my choice for today:
“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” (Pericles)
Thank you for weaving your magic into our lives.
Joanna
Posted by: Joanna Young | April 23, 2008 at 02:44 AM
Aloha and Happy Birthday Rosa! Today, I celebrate with you and am sending warm wishes and hugs your way. One quote that comes to mind has to do with running a marathon but also applies to life, "You don't run 26.2 miles but one mile, twenty six times." It reminds me to take the journey one mile at a time, enjoying each one and leaving any mistakes of past miles behind. Each mile is its own to be run.
Thank you for your giving spirit Rosa! Have a wonderful birthday!
Karen
Posted by: Karen Swim | April 23, 2008 at 02:50 AM
Happy Birthday Rosa! Not sure why, but a lot of creative people are born during the April / May slot.
Posted by: cat | April 23, 2008 at 03:58 AM
Happy Birthday Rosa!
Live Large! Because shrinking does not become you! That is what I will be saying to myself.
The unexpected days off, taken on a whim are the best. Enjoy your day!
Posted by: Greg Bakanko-Dickson | April 23, 2008 at 04:31 AM
Oh my, mahalo everyone! What an extraordinary way for me to greet the day, finding that all of you have started my celebrating for me as I was still fast asleep. Seems there was a sweet Edinburgh bird tweeting her generous, spirit spilling song...@joannayoung you have become pure love to me: http://tinyurl.com/4b3wty
Thank you so much for coming by to visit me everyone, and for sharing your quotes! Words are so illustratively powerful to someone who admires and wonders at them as much as I do, and my gift is in knowing all of you so much better by the glimpse they give me to your ho‘ohana me ke aloha because you have chosen them.
I have one more to share from Oprah; we are the same age... she is three months older, and so I shall take the advice of my elder today :)
“Be more splendid, more extraordinary. Use every moment to fill yourself up.”
All of you have done that here too!
Mahalo nui loa for the aloha you give me today. Dianne, your definition is absolutely correct; we share the breath of our lives within aloha, and the magic of other people entering our breath’s reach started the day we were born.
Posted by: Rosa Say | April 23, 2008 at 07:07 AM
Happy Birthday Rosa. May your ears reach your ankle and your nose Africa!
Well, not really, just a local "good wish" - origin unknown. Just to have some weird, Hungarian taste of the birthday :)
Well, anyway I wish you a Happy Birthday, and many, many more to come, in good health, which is important.
Posted by: Roland Hesz | April 23, 2008 at 08:01 AM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSA from Brazil!
Posted by: Liz Hamil | April 23, 2008 at 09:08 AM
Happy Birthday, Rosa! As the sun is setting on the Big Island I can report that you chose a marvelous day to take for yourself.
Aloha mai no, aloha aku.
For all the aloha you give to us, may you today and every day have it returned until your calabash overflows!
Birthday cake on its way too...
Posted by: Beth Thoma Robinson | April 23, 2008 at 06:19 PM
Happy birthday Rosa!
In addition to the birthday tweet from earlier here is the gift of a quote that I thought you would relate to ...
"Shared laughter creates a bond of friendships. When people laugh together, they cease to be young and old, teacher and pupils, worker and boss. They become a single group of human beings." - W. Lee Grant
Enjoy!
Posted by: Leah Maclean | April 23, 2008 at 07:59 PM
Only just making it!
Happy Birthday Rosa.
There's a big hug stretching across the Pacific to you.
I've just been focusing on John Donne's quote "no man is an island, entire of itself". For me the ripples of you slap right across the mighty Pacific on a daily basis and if that's not something to be grateful for then I don't know what is.
You are a shining light of inclusion in our world.
I hope you enjoyed your day of talking story with those you love.
Believe me we all enjoy you talking story with us!
Posted by: Chris Owen | April 23, 2008 at 09:08 PM
Beth, I may not have been the one to initially choose the day, however I do now claim it quite joyfully, and it do seems our Kona coast weather had been conspiring in my favor!
Mahalo Kākou (everyone). As I write this it is now the day after my birthday, and the trackback above shows a thank you card I have posted. However I will be coming back here to this posting often to savor your quotations, weave them into my life during many more days to come, and to breathe in the aloha you have all shared with me.
Me ke aloha pumehana,
Rosa
Posted by: Rosa Say | April 24, 2008 at 09:54 AM
Hi Rosa, so sorry I'm a little late with this, but happy birthday! I hope you enjoyed your day off. You're right, that is a great perk of being self-employed.
You work hard in your business. You earned a day off.
Anita
Posted by: Anita Campbell | May 01, 2008 at 08:04 AM
Mahalo nui loa Anita! Never too late to thrill in the warmth of a generous birthday wish, and you are a dear to give this treat to me on the first day of May - a sign it will be a wonderful month for me!
Posted by: Rosa Say | May 01, 2008 at 10:25 AM