Are We Celebrating Enough?

7 AM this past Sunday, Champagne was flowing as my brother celebrated the Monaco Grand Prix from the roof top bar of his residence in Long Island, NY. Caffeinated friends had arrived to watch, and even his three-month-old son & future racecar driver joined the festivities.  As he shared the story later, I chuckled at his ability to take anything (at any time apparently) and morph it into a celebration!  It made me realize, are we (the rest of us) celebrating enough?  Or more pointedly, are we creating enough reasons to celebrate?

Milestone Mania

We excel at celebrating milestones like birthdays and anniversaries (even ones we don’t like). We also do a good job with our firsts and lasts. We rejoice our first day on the job and our last day of school…or our last day at a tedious job.  It’s all worthy of a celebration.  Even our month to month accomplishments get a nod. We do something, complete something, and then it’s time to celebrate.

It’s a way to capture that fleeting moment of achievement and a very effective positive reinforcement technique.  I recently read an article about a woman who would open a mini bottle of Champagne every time she achieved a goal. Such small celebrations are tantamount to making life meaningful. But aren’t we deserving of even more?

But Alive & Kicking, Now

In celebrating only our milestones, we fail to recognize our good fortune today. In our busy worlds, it’s commonplace to take the ordinary for granted.    Why not celebrate a perfectly good Wednesday afternoon, where we’re healthy, breathing, and alive?  Or a day without any drama?  Or our 748^th day enjoying our job? Or a race we love, even if it’s on TV at the crack of dawn?

Enjoying our present time for itself gives us a greater appreciation of that time in our life.   One of my favorite quotes by Mandy Hale of tiny buddha® fame is “Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrating it for everything that it is.”  Right now.

If Only To Remember

One of the most important reasons to celebrate is that such times help us remember.   The reason we fondly reminisce certain occasions is that we made a big deal out of them when they happened. The laughter, the stories, the friends…we recall those moments because we felt alive that night.

And we remember that feeling like it was yesterday, whether it was a New Year’s Eve party years ago or that Tuesday night we all met up for no reason.  The more we create our own reasons…the less dependence we have on waiting for a potential milestone in the future that may or may not come to pass.

To Each Her Own Joy

Now, just to clarify, celebration doesn’t always mean drinking alcohol, but rather to capture the essence of joy midstream, in a way that suits you.  For me, the thought of opening a bottle of Champagne lifts me…even before I have a sip!   Pulling out the crystal stems, popping the cork, seeing the bubbles…it’s the process and the subsequent feeling that it conjures that I revel in.

But really, that feeling reminds me that I am enjoying this very moment in life, with all my senses.  Considering that over 90% of the time we contemplate yesterday’s woes or tomorrow’s worries, it’s a rare pleasure to acknowledge the best of our lives right now.  Celebrate, on your own terms…just do it more often!  Cheers!