a positive side to birthdays

A little add-on to yesterdays essay on birthdays.

I've spent the evening answering birthday messages, and while some of them were generic from random people, quite some were also very personal, from people I'm not that much in contact with but that I care about and enjoy spending time and interacting with.

Birthdays, it turns out, provide an easy reason and method for staying in touch. A simple birthday message can lead to a nice meetup or conversation. Yes, we could reach out at any time, but the concept of birthdays makes this easier. It's a built-in excuse to reconnect.

So while I maintain my stance on the arbitrary nature of birthday celebrations, I now appreciate this silver lining. Birthdays can serve as a useful social tool, facilitating connections that might otherwise fade due to busy lives and lack of regular contact.