THIS EXPLAINS WHY WE CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS.

        

    When i was in school, i made an observation that got etched into my mind and evoked many questions about this " Ritual of Birthday ", i call it as a ritual because, it is what it is, for example, the ritual of Baptism includes welcoming by priest or deacon, confession of faith, immersion in water, affusion (pouring), aspersion (sprinkling) and finally prounouncing the Trinitarian Formula. Likewise, the ritual of birthday includes many things that people follow, suitable to their lifestyle and cultural setup. However, in my schooldays this ritual of birthday was followed in somewhat a peculiar way that pushed me to think more about birthdays deeply and through the lens of Rationality and psychology.

                                         " TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY ! "

    

                Whenever, any of my friend's birthday was near, the news about it would have spread throughout our classroom like a wildfire, by the time the news reached to me everyone's behaviour in my classroom would have changed as if there was some celebration impending before and this sudden shift in the attitude of my friends always remained as an enigma to me, untill now. The next day the birthday boy / girl would be in a gleaming attire drawing attention of the entire class towards him/her like a 'light attracting the moths', then s/he would get to hear the entire class singing the birthday song, wishing for prosperity and all the good talk, after this, the birthday boy/girl would distribute the chocalates to the entire class with his/her bestfriend receiving more than one and others wishing more than once in hope of getting another chocalate, if some chocalates happen to remain then the teacher would advise him/her to distribute them to other classes and one of his/her friend would accompany him/her in the task, then the class would have continued just like it did for every other day. To many it might seems like, such a normal thing to happen but to me it was a riddle because in many cases i tracked down the instigator of the birthday news and if my memory serves me right, in most of the cases it was always the birthday boy/girl themselves that instigated the news, why reveal the news deliberately ? or should i use the term, 'desperately'.

                                       '' BIRTHDAYS ARE SUBCONSCIOUS DISCRIMINATORS "

        Just imagine the desperation behind the mind for seeking attention, to feel like worthy, to be someone who is important, to be an exception and so afraid that people would simply forget this crucial day, if we understand carefully, these emotions are what drives a human being and explained clearly in 'Maslow's hiearchy of needs', so, is birthday a need ? if that is the case then what are we fulfilling out of this need ?.

        The answer is simple, it is the 'Transfer of power and control'. Its quite deeply philosophical also. 'Albert camus ' in his essay 'The Myth of Sisyphus' talks about the 'absurd man' or 'absurdism' in which he contends that'' the rational mind will be forever in conflict with the irrational world while striving for certainty", the result will always be in against the interests of humanity, that is 'uncertainty' and soon the existence itself becomes so unbearable that even an ounce of certainty is embraced like a 'warm blanket', religion is a finest example in this case, parading as an ultimate truth and as a force of certainty, but in reality it is as lost as humanity itself. Birthdays just open a small window to transfer the control of your uncertain existence to your near and dear ones to offer some sanity by clouding you with assurances of certainty using good wishes and showering with praises. Transfer of power also happens as you 'subconsciously discriminate' your own time period, just think, every day has 24 hours, every month 30 or 31 days (except february, which has 28 or 29 days) and every year has 12 months, this is the norm and in those 365 days some days are good and some are bad, because of lived experiences and memories attached to that days, not because of days themselves, but this fact gets blurred and you will come to think that some days are indeed inherently bad and some are good, this core belief is the foundation for festivals, ceremonies, marriages and even funerals, it also fuels the superstitions that religions have successfully exploited worldwide.

      So, when did the transfer of power happen ? it happens when you internalize this 'subconscious discriminator' and you will become dependent on your near and dear ones for the success of YOUR birthday, just imagine, how would you feel if no one wished you on your birthday ? definitely sad, right ? if not sad, you would be dull, because, this 'subconscious discrimination' makes you dependent on your wellwishers for happiness and to be complacent, unfortunately this is taught to us when we were kids and is very hard to unlearn. And, just like that, you end up transferring your power over your happiness to others and feels not so special in other days unless, if you think otherwise.

                            '' EVERY DAY IS SPECIAL AND SO ARE YOU "

        One should not feel special only on their birthdays but rather on everyday, and also birthday is not a special day, if you feel special everyday then everyday is your birthday and it is infact true, because, the today's YOU will die today and a new YOU will rise tomorrow and this continues as you continue to learn and grow. Today, the birthdays have become an  occasion for fake power projections with lavish gifts and pretensions and one should resist it fully, and to conclude, the simple lesson is, WE are the root cause of all our happiness and sadness, both are found within and not outside our mind, by understanding this simple truth one could be free from a lot of unnecessary mental burden which helps to preserve our mental health also. At the end, i wish everyone a '' happy born day everyday".