CAVEAT LECTOR: May the clarification in this post about the pointlessness of birthdays and similar celebrations not be confused with my sincere wishes of happiness for everyone.
A couple of weeks are to determine whether I make it to the 29th year of a debatable nonexistence. Worse, a nonexistence that is perfectly perceptive and requires food and therefore a job... Perhaps I would have celebrated my 10th or 15th birthday unawarely, but celebrating my 29th seems ironic and pointless. I am not at all debating one's life quality, one's mere survival of another year, or one's nearing the last days of what he or she might consider a wasted life, for all these arguments can be flawed epistemologically. I am arguing about a more rudimentary philosophical savoir-vivre question...
Why should your birthday be any more special than the remaining days of your life? Doesn't this very expectation impose monotony and boredom on the remaining 364 days you were not born on? Can't you have a daily blast or more ad libitum? Your friends, that have received 100 birthday notifications from 50 social networks you are both on, to wish you that "happy birthday" or a minute variation thereof, are they truly thoughtful and sincere. If you're rather judging them based on their gift, have you thought of the non-materialistic, poor or tasteless friends with good intentions? And what about the gloomy ones that are neither faking a smile nor planning to ruin your special day of the year? Therefore, I wholeheartedly vote for abolishing birthday celebrations after one gains full consciousness.
I am not bothered by people celebrating their birthdays, on the contrary, if that makes them happy. However, I find myself often confused by their expectations, especially from the invited guests and the dynamics in between... I wouldn't call myself socially inept but I can't help laughing at bad jokes or smiling to cliche, especially when repeated incessantly by an interdepartmental social group or an intimate click with cryptic nerdy inside jokes. Therefore, with that I conclude that I am not anti-social nor am I a misanthrope.
In fact, when I last turned 27 or 28, I was overwhelmed with all the generic birthday wishes that I was never able to reciprocate. Initially, I felt obligated to respond thanking each and every thoughtful though inconsiderate soul that left a mark on my virtual facebook wall. I felt guilty for never using neither facebook nor other means for casting birthday wishes... I felt bad just because I like to wish my friends and family a happy (even glorious) day every single day and not once every year. I wish to share with them special moments whenever possible, not whenever convenient.
Have a wonderful day!
A couple of weeks are to determine whether I make it to the 29th year of a debatable nonexistence. Worse, a nonexistence that is perfectly perceptive and requires food and therefore a job... Perhaps I would have celebrated my 10th or 15th birthday unawarely, but celebrating my 29th seems ironic and pointless. I am not at all debating one's life quality, one's mere survival of another year, or one's nearing the last days of what he or she might consider a wasted life, for all these arguments can be flawed epistemologically. I am arguing about a more rudimentary philosophical savoir-vivre question...
Why should your birthday be any more special than the remaining days of your life? Doesn't this very expectation impose monotony and boredom on the remaining 364 days you were not born on? Can't you have a daily blast or more ad libitum? Your friends, that have received 100 birthday notifications from 50 social networks you are both on, to wish you that "happy birthday" or a minute variation thereof, are they truly thoughtful and sincere. If you're rather judging them based on their gift, have you thought of the non-materialistic, poor or tasteless friends with good intentions? And what about the gloomy ones that are neither faking a smile nor planning to ruin your special day of the year? Therefore, I wholeheartedly vote for abolishing birthday celebrations after one gains full consciousness.
I am not bothered by people celebrating their birthdays, on the contrary, if that makes them happy. However, I find myself often confused by their expectations, especially from the invited guests and the dynamics in between... I wouldn't call myself socially inept but I can't help laughing at bad jokes or smiling to cliche, especially when repeated incessantly by an interdepartmental social group or an intimate click with cryptic nerdy inside jokes. Therefore, with that I conclude that I am not anti-social nor am I a misanthrope.
In fact, when I last turned 27 or 28, I was overwhelmed with all the generic birthday wishes that I was never able to reciprocate. Initially, I felt obligated to respond thanking each and every thoughtful though inconsiderate soul that left a mark on my virtual facebook wall. I felt guilty for never using neither facebook nor other means for casting birthday wishes... I felt bad just because I like to wish my friends and family a happy (even glorious) day every single day and not once every year. I wish to share with them special moments whenever possible, not whenever convenient.
Have a wonderful day!
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