If your life offered you a menu, what would you order?

​This year I get to celebrate a big birthday milestone.

On September 15, I turn 50 years old! Yay!

Birthday celebrations are a big deal for me. You can ask my partner Richard. 

On the morning of every September 1st, when we wake up, I announce to him that we are officially beginning the celebration of my birthday month. 

(And sometimes I make the announcement at 12am, if we happen to be awake.)

Earlier this week, I asked Richard, “What should we do to celebrate my birthday this year?”

Richard replied, “We can do anything you want. It’s your birthday!”

His comment took me aback. I thought to myself, “Really? ANYTHING I want?”

Once that settled in, the next thought emerged.

“So…what do I really want?”

Over the next couple of days, I started a mental list in my head of some possibilities for a birthday celebration.

I could have a big birthday bash, inviting all my friends and family, with lots of food, music and dancing. That sounds like fun.

Or we could go on a cruise. I like cruises. Where can I go that I haven’t gone before?

We can do a 14-day transatlantic cruise that leaves Fort Lauderdale and ends up in Barcelona.

I’ve always wanted to take a cruise through the Panama Canal. We can start in Florida, go through the Panama Canal, and end up in Los Angeles.

Hmm..how about a cruise through Asia, with stops in Singapore, Vietnam, maybe Japan? That sounds adventurous.

Well, if not a cruise, what else would be on my list?

I’d love to take a week in Orlando and visit DisneyWorld and Universal Studios. It’s been years since I’ve been there and visiting Harry Potter at Hogwarts feels magical.

Or, how about a trip back to the Philippines, to visit some of the beautiful beaches I haven’t explored and to show Richard the country where I was born?

I’ve also had the inkling over the years to try skydiving. I saw on the news recently that the actress Viola Davis went skydiving to celebrate her birthday.

These are a lot of great ideas, but which one should I choose?

It so happened that I spoke with my mom on the phone, and I told her all of the different ideas rolling around in my head.

After listening to my rattling off about maybe I can do this or maybe I can try that, she asked a simple question:

“Out of all of these, which one would be your top pick?”

(An excellent coaching question, if I do say so myself.)

In other words, she was asking me the question that I regularly pose to my clients:

“What do you really, really, really want?”

It’s such a seemingly innocuous question, very straightforward and simple, and yet it’s one that confounds so many of us.

“What do you really, really, really want?”

Have you ever found yourself needing to make a decision about something and feeling lost or unsure about what to do?

You could be trying to figure out something fun, like where to go on vacation or what to eat at a new restaurant.

Or you might be facing a challenging situation, like finding yourself hating your work environment, or being in a troubling relationship, or feeling dissatisfied with life.

No matter what you might be experiencing, “What do you really, really, really want?” is a powerful question because it cuts through all the noise and puts the focus on you.

Here’s another way that I pose this question to my clients.

Imagine the Universe is a restaurant.

Now, a server comes to you with a menu and says, “This is your life. You can order anything you want. Nothing is out of bounds. What do you want?”

In other words, think about any area of life where you have a question, and ask:

• For your career or your business, what do you want?
• For your relationships, what do you want?
• For your health, what do you want?
• For your money, what do you want?

For life to feel joyous, meaningful and alive, what do you want?

“What do you really, really, really want?”

To entertain this question means to temporarily set aside and suspend the thoughts and ideas that creep up that aim to squash this question.

Thoughts and ideas like, “Well, is what I want even do-able?”, or “Is what I want realistic?”, or “Who am I to ask for what I really want?”

And sometimes, you might find yourself coming up empty, saying to yourself, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know what I really want.”

If you’ve had any of these thoughts come up, please don’t beat yourself up. These thoughts show up for the vast majority of us, including me.

Many of us are taught to play it safe, to go for what’s do-able and to do what everybody else does. 

For the most part we’re not encouraged to think for ourselves and to draw outside the lines.

But here’s the spiritual Truth: There’s a Creative Energy at the center of all of Life itself.

This energy is inexhaustible, and it is infinite.

And this Creative Energy is seeking to express itself fully in all of Life itself, including you.

That means, what you experience and what you express in Life is limited only by you…your understanding of who you think you are, what you believe you are equal to and what you accept as possible.

“What do you really, really, really want?”

You get to choose.

So, for my 50th birthday this year, I get to apply this teaching to my own situation. 

I’m not sure yet what I’ll choose from the menu. I’m still perusing what looks tasty and delicious, and I’m open to entertaining new and interesting ideas (please let me know if you have any suggestions!).

Perhaps, I’ll not only pick one, but choose a few things from the menu…maybe an appetizer here, a dish there, and of course, dessert of some sort!

It’s a wonderful feeling when you allow yourself to play in the realm of possibilities.

There’s a freedom when you allow yourself to open up and stretch, and lovingly invite wonder and delight into your Life.

And here’s the other lesson I’ll impart. 

You don’t have to wait for a milestone birthday to choose from the menu of Life.

You can begin to make choices that bring you joy and delight right here and right now. In this moment. Right where you are..

One thing I do know for sure, though, is that for this year, I’m not limiting myself to celebrating my 50th birthday just for the month of September.

I’m going to celebrate the whole entire year.

Abundant Blessings and Namaste.

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A little about me...

My unique ability is to see people clearly for who they are, to help them figure out what’s really holding them back and to fully support them in a safe and sacred space, with the result of people feeling excited about life and believing they can claim the driver’s seat of their lives. I've been called the "Aha Whisperer."

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