Conversations For Transformation: Essays Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

Conversations For Transformation

Essays By Laurence Platt

Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

And More

Drinks On Me

Cowboy Cottage, East Napa, California, USA

September 5, 2009
"In Hollywood, underneath a golden palm tree, Hollywood ... come to the party the drinks are on me ... for free." ... America, Hollywood 
This essay, Drinks On Me, was conceived at the same time as It is the companion piece to

I've always had hesitancy around wishing you a happy birthday. Somehow it's never fitted with who you are. It's always seemed (as they say in England) so very twee  with regard to you. It's more than that actually: popular rumor has it you've said you don't celebrate your birthday anymore.

Even if it's not true ie even if you never said that, I can go with it. It's true: "Happy Birthday" really doesn't fit with who you are. Besides which, every day (indeed, every hour, every minute) is your birth day / birth hour / birth minute when it comes from transformation. In this context, the distinction birth day  is simply too arbitrary.

So I'd resolved not to add an unnecessarily frivolous birthday greeting to your mountain of incoming communications. I completed my morning prep in the Cowboy Cottage, then left to go swim the morning mile with my birthday greeting to you thought through yet unsent ... when suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks, turned around and came back to write this. A light had come on.

What I got is wishing you a happy birthday isn't something which applies to you in your life anymore and hasn't now for decades. However, the fact that you were born and came into my  life is an opportunity for me for full on  celebration, for exuberant thanksgiving, and / or for simply being blown away and moved to tears.

When I get in touch with the truth, it's this: I'm just so deeply grateful you were born into our world, and into my world in particular.

So I wish you a happy birthday to say thank you for how your life has allowed me to create my life as I've created it to be, indeed for how your life has unleashed so many breakthrough possibilities for our world and for everyone - with no one and nothing left out.

The single most pertinent gift I can give you on your birthday is my life and my appreciation for what it becomes with you.

Thank You.

Happy Birthday.
Background soundtrack: America: Hollywood - wait for 5.25M download

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