Happiness is Celebration

Celebrating life isn’t something we do often enough. I recently took an evening to really celebrate how far I have come in my new writing career this past Saturday, and we went all out with a grand meal. We former chefs love to eat, and I decided to really go for it with a special cocktail called The Original Millionaire (calling in that one), poached lobster (been years), and a street food I discovered in Mexico when I was doing mission work on the border called churros.

Happiness is celebration.

There’s just no denying it. But what about when we feel like things aren’t going well? Can we take a moment to step back and celebrate one little thing, however small we think it is?

When I was in my mid-twenties, I had a serious illness, and one thing it taught me was to celebrate more often. I decided I wasn’t going to wait for something I considered truly momentous. If I was having a great day and felt happy, I was going to celebrate it. If I had done something that was really hard for me, like speaking my truth in a relationship for the first time, well, I was going to celebrate that too. It could be with a special treat for myself, anything from my favorite custard ice cream in our neighborhood to a glass of champagne. Having champagne, one of my favorites, just because is a powerful way to celebrate. We don’t pop the bubbly as often as we might since we reserve that magical elixir for special moments. Well, I decided I wanted more bubbles in my life, wanted to live more effervescently, so it comes out more often now.

And it makes me happy.

How often do you celebrate yourself? Celebrate that you’re here and alive and are doing the best you can? I know growing up, I didn’t even know what that meant. I’m glad I’ve learned it now.

We often find it so easy to celebrate something in another, their new job, their success, their engagement. But when it comes to us… Well, we don’t want to turn the spotlight on ourselves.

And we should. We all matter, and celebrating that we are here is celebrating the whole human race when you think about it. We really do all matter, and so when I raise my glass now, I often toast everybody. We’re all here for a reason, doing what’s in front of us. That counts.

So, when was the last time you truly celebrated yourself? And if it’s been a while, do something nice for yourself. I’ll be toasting you when I next raise my glass.

 

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