Today is my 30th birthday and I’ve spent most of the past week feeling reminiscent of so many moments from my past. All the people I’ve been, relationships I’ve had, struggles, successes, grief, growth, and how it’s all impacted the version of me here now. It’s impossible to say if I’d be this person without the sum of those moments. It’s very likely that I wouldn’t be because if it wasn’t those moments, it would be other moments. Our minds are just big collections of moments. Some take up more space than others and some disappear all together. There are some that I’ve tried to forget and others I wish I could remember better and what I’ve found inside of these moments is that the ones I can’t forget, both good and bad, have been some of the greatest teachers I’ve ever known. All the amazing and joy filled moments I can’t forget remind me to seek that more in my life. To surround myself with people that celebrate and encourage joy, balance, authenticity, and expression in ways that make me feel connected, supported, and honest. And for the dark and grief filled moments, I feel prompted to examine those deeper. To not only see why they hurt me so much, but also to remind myself that because I’m able to remember them so clearly means they didn’t break me as much as I thought they did. And inside of that truth is growth. At 30 years of age, I’ve realized just how much value growth has for me. I take comfort in knowing that who I am tomorrow will be different than who I am today, even if just a little. The growth, the expansion of all things is happening before our very eyes. And considering the multiverse, all the hopes and dreams we have for ourselves are achieved and executed somewhere, sometime, by a version of us that is us and also is not us (continued in comments)......