Question:“On hating your birthday”
On hating your birthday
A birthday feels hateful when it feels like the day your worth is priced: who remembers, how many come. But a birthday is not a test. It is the anniversary of the fact that you are here.
On that day, do not wait for anyone’s wishes. Decide beforehand what you will give yourself: one meal, one hour, one object. Where there is a giver, there is also someone who received.
In the Works and Days, Hesiod marked each day of the month as good or bad for this or that. On the days he did not call good, people were still born, and still lived.