Birthday Celebrations
A birthday celebration is a rite of passage, marking a spiritual and physical transition into a new form. There is something about meteors, poetically known to us all as shooting stars, that remind me of birthdays. I imagine it to be a soul coming to Earth. And also as a reminder that we are made of stars, or at least from the explosion of stars. Without these, the critical elements for life, we would not exist.
Shooting stars seeded the Earth
Shooting stars are not really stars, but the smallest parts of stars, the seeds of stars. They are asteroid and comet dust. Most are burned up in our atmosphere, thus giving a shooting star its bright tail. Those that make landfall are called meteors. Most are smaller than a grain of rice, a seed. Meteorites (meteors that are found on the ground) contain the building blocks for life on Earth, including RNA, sugars and carbon-based compounds like amino acids. Scientist believe these were originally formed in space. Early in Earth’s formation, space dust rained on Earth in the amount of a billions of tons a year.
We are star people, a parable
The stars enjoyed being stars. They sparkled and shimmered. They lit up all the darkness and they admired themselves and one another. This went on for hundreds of years, thousands of years, millions and trillions of years until one day, one star, a star different than other stars, began to wonder what it would be like not being a star. Just in having the thought, it began to change. It became filled with excitement, anticipation and eagerness of something new and something different. It began to vibrate with excitement, all over all its points were vibrating. The more it vibrated, the more excited it became. It was red hot! It was on fire with eagerness! It grew and grew, pregnant with fire of anticipation. It grew so incredibly large, like an enormous egg. With great energy and joy, the star burst open in a huge explosion. It was breathtaking to behold. It was like the most beautiful, exploding flower. It was like an enormous fireworks of rainbow colors. In all directions it burst light and color and particles. Its seeds flew though the entire Universe. The star, having exploded, now was everywhere. It was super and new. It was a supernova!
Some of the other stars, watching in wonder and amazement, were scared; while others, wanted to supernova. So more stars joined the first. They too sent seeds of their star bodies throughout the Universe. So they did.
Those star parts, the seeds sent throughout the Universe, are the building blocks of you and me and everything we see. We are stars right here on Earth. Our bodies are stars. We are star people. Just like the stars, we twinkle, pulsate and vibrate. Just like the stars we glow. Just like the stars we admire each other’s light. Just like the stars, we change form when we die. Some of us have been on Earth many times, crossing the rainbow bridge from the land of light to the land of form. Although we may not remember now, we have all known each other for a long time, since the beginning of time, actually, when we all played together as stars. We will always travel together this way, just as we always have. We are forever.
Note: Many creation stories around the world begin with a great egg exploding. When looking at images of exploding stars, its easy to understand the connection.
Crossing the Rainbow Bridge (Birthdays)
Next tell the story of this child as a little star child crossing the rainbow bridge. Even with this version, adapted from the Waldorf birthday tradition, I insert a bit of the wisdom from The Little Soul and the Sun by Neale Donald Walsch, about our not only choosing to come to Earth and selecting our parents but in setting the stage for our growth and asking of others to take part in it, especially our family (some of whom have to wait and come to Earth later).
The rainbow bridge story can be found in many versions and I love this one written and performed with puppets and song by Susan Bruck from her website, Soul Blossom Living. Several books also feature this birth story including:
- Little Angel’s Journey by Dzvinka Hayda
- Through the Rainbow: A Waldorf Birthday Story for Children by Lou Harvey-Zahra
- The Birthday Book: Celebrations for Everyone (Festivals and The Seasons) by Paschal Mihyo.
Happy Birthday, little soul!
🌟Karen
Image credits
Images are free for commercial use from Pixabay.com. Thank you to the following image authors:
Galaxy- Gerd Altmann
Cassiopeia supernova- WikiImages
Shooting star- Free-Photos
Rainbow – Cindy Lever
