11 Jun Deathday Party

Today, June 12th, is my birthday. It’s not a significant day unless I’m stopped for a traffic violation and given a pass by a sympathetic police officer.

Birthday parties celebrate the calendar date upon which we arrived on Earth for our short time here. Deathday ceremonies celebrate those who have transitioned to be one with everything forever.

Birthday celebrations are ubiquitous while the deathday is rarely acknowledged in the Western world outside of Chinese, Japanese, Jewish, Korean and Vietnamese communities.

Birthday parties are an incapsulated mix of food, chitchat, perhaps a couple of speeches and gifting. Deathday ceremonies can be more fun and impactful. On the deathday we can gather and each attendee can view their life and the lives of others from the perspective of the one who is one with everything. Then, those who have gathered can be born again as they perceive themselves in a new light and the presence of the one who transitioned is felt by all for a time long passed their deathday.