The evidence suggests Johannes Vermeer’s daughter Maria was his likely model and a crucial part of his art when he painted the iconic – Girl With a Pearl Earring
Today is my birthday.
I have been on this earth for 51 years.
18,626 days to be exact.
Of which, I have only been truly alive for 2,345 of those days.
I no longer look at my birthday as the point of reference in the timeline of my life.
I now look at my Re-Birth day as that point.
2,345 days ago I became a member of “The Life Changing Events Club” and was welcomed into the inner circle of life.
2,345 days ago was the day my daughter lost oxygen to her brain for six minutes.
I call it my Re-Birth Day.
You would think I would refer to that day as the day I died.
But I don’t.
I refer to that day as the day of my Re-Birth.
The day I was turned.
Converted.
The day I started becoming the best version of myself.
For it is the day as an adult that I woke up to what is truly important in life.
Life itself.
That day I started to pull every ounce of invigoration out of life.
Each of my last 2,345 days on this earth have been super turbo charged.
Magnified.
Intense.
Memorable.
Each day has been deeply branded into my soul to produce the person I am today.
The best version of myself that I have ever been.
I have been a club member for only 12.5% of my life.
I don’t ever remember what it is like to not be a club member anymore.
Although I would change the circumstances that made me a member, I would never renounce my membership.
By design or disaster I would recommend you become a member.
Hopefully by design.
But even if by disaster, realize membership into this exclusive club is a gift.
And your present is a new perspective on life and it’s value.
As a club member, you are invited into the inner circle of the universe.
It’s like in a vampire/zombie movie where one doesn’t know who has been turned or not. Insiders of the club know who’s been turned. It is a sense that comes with being a club member.
It’s different though than vampire movies, a club member doesn’t try to turn others into becoming a member.
They leave that up to life.
Club members are not there to suck the blood out of anyone.
They are there when the blood is sucked out of someone to rekindle their human spirit.
I beg of you, don’t ever let life suck the blood out of you.
Don’t wait for a life changing event to become the best version of yourself.
Truly live.
Each day be reborn anew.
Each day have your feelings magnified.
Each day have your memories burned into your soul.
Set out to improve the quality of other people’s lives and the universe will improve yours.
Do it now.
By design.
So live.
Fully.
Intensely.
Impactfully.
My only wish is that you and I will have many days like this.
If you wait for a disaster to truly live each day you will limit your time inside the inner circle of life.
I would never want to relive my last 2,345 days on this earth.
But I wouldn’t trade them either, for the world.
I read something that a good friend posted the other day that said:
“We should start referring to age as levels instead of years.”
The older we get, the higher the level we reach in obtaining life’s wisdom.
2,345
I have become progressively better at life, not as I got older, but rather as I have reached higher and higher levels in life due to the time I have spent in the inner circle, as a life changing events club member.
2,345
I have reached level 6.
And I can’t wait to feel the intense magnification of life, to share it with you and to somehow, someway know when you need a rekindling of your human spirit.
As a club member, today may be my birthday, but more importantly, every new day has become my Re-birth day.
By design or disaster.
I beg of you, don’t wait for disaster to strike to start to truly live.
It is much less painful, and you get to spend more time in the inner circle of life, if you choose to get there by design.
Categories: Life, Life Changing Events, Life Lessons, Marvel, Shorts, Time, Wonder
John Passaro 