My Minimalist Birthday

I've been trying to write all weekend. My mind has been bursting full of ideas - generating stubs and threads and interesting points of discussion.

These will follow as proper posts before long. But to clear the block and to clear my mind, I first need to give a voice to the weekend just gone.

My birthday was yesterday. December 22nd is a funny day - everyone has Christmas on the brain. Everyone is strapped for cash and for time.

I used to take quite a materialist, scarcity-based view of this day. More stuff going on in the lives of others meant less time for me. Fewer gifts for me, I thought, meant less love. My birthday often made me feel empty and uncared for, forgotten in the hubbub of the Christmas season.

This year, I travelled to Brussels, where a small group of some of the most interesting, beautiful, and achingly cool people I know live. I went into it with the aim of enjoying this company. And, if it all went tits up, there was always the best beer in the world as a back up plan.

How did it go?

I swam. I went to an improv battle in French, and understood most of it. I went to an underground club and danced with abandon to Belgian 80s classics. I stayed up all hours discussing life and programming languages. I met a friend from my high school exchange year in Finland. I drank mulled wine in a Christmas market. I felt like the richest person alive, all for less than 50 Euros.

The time we choose to share with others is our most profound and valuable gift. A few hours snatched out of the day to tell our stories, a message sent from half way around the world, the enthusiastic sharing of our normal lives - this is what actually matters.

Celebrating others has nothing to do with things or organized get-togethers. There was no formal party. No sitting in a circle receiving gifts. No obligation or pressure on anyone to show face. Instead, those that chose to spend time with me in this place were showing that they were happy that I was born because they are happy to be with me now.

As Christmas nears, the best thing any of us can do to show our love for others is to spend time rather than money, and to do this often throughout the year.

Who can you reach out to right now that you care for?