Your life was preceded by that of billions of humans and you live among billions today, but have you considered how completely unique you are? The exact footprint of your life on earth has never been mapped before and cannot ever be duplicated. You and our fellow humans are curious as to how we got here, why we are here, and what’s going to happen as we exit this world, but the only thing we can truly prove is that we are here right now.

But have you noticed that a lot of people (and maybe you are one of them) are not enjoying our “right now”? If Martians were to visit Earth would they be perplexed to find that some folks need a reminder to celebrate each year of their lives? Do you mark your birthdates with cake and a bit of frivolity? Do you spend any quiet time on your birthdays to reflect on the life path you have thus far taken? Do you eagerly anticipate and map out the trajectory of the next year and all the subsequent years of your life?

Would our inter-planetary buddies wonder why many of us think we cease to grow as we exit our teen years or why we dread aging and fear dying?