Today is February 12th and it’s my birthday! Today is a very special day for me, and I hope it also is a very special day for you too.
There are many things to celebrate…
#1) It’s Friday, the most fun-tastic day of the week. I was actually born on a Friday, and today is also a Friday. Woohoo!
#2) Today is the start of Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox. Although I’m not a zodiac expert of the 12 astrological signs that cycle every 12 years, I know that oxen are celebrated for being strong, intelligent, reliable, and supportive. They are hard working yet humble, and do not seek attention and praise. Happy Chinese New Year!
#3) Today is “212” (“2” for February as the 2nd month of the year, and “12” as the 12th day of the month). As someone who lives in and loves New York City, I am always reminded of these numbers whenever I see a (212) telephone number, as it is the original iconic area code of New York City. I find the numbers 212 as lucky, and anyone whose telephone numbers start with “(212)” will also tell you how lucky they are to have them. (212) is so iconic that there are even online services to purchase them.
Yet, for all these things, something very special happened exactly on this date, 2/12, exactly 212 years ago. Something that you probably didn’t know of that changed the world for good, and changed the world forever.
On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born. Yes, 212 years ago today.
Two bearded men, one a politician and the other a scientist, brought to the world significant positive changes. They lived in a completely different time than us in completely different parts of the world, yet they were able to create longstanding legacies that have lasted over two centuries, and they still are as relevant today as they were back then.
They helped produce a revolution of realization that even though we all might seem different and disconnected, we should think of ourselves as being similar and interconnected. There are significantly more things in common between us then not.
Lincoln helped cement that concept into our government and politics, and Darwin helped cement that concept into our science and biology. We now can see how these principals have become part of the fabric of our democracy, human rights, social justice, medicine, technology, healthcare, genetics, and more. But back then, it wasn’t necessarily the case, and both of these men took great personal risks to help cement these concepts for the centuries to come.
Both were also great writers, and showed that words can not only articulate and convey thoughts and ideas that challenged the world’s biggest norms, but when those words were also simple and relatable, they can also connect with power and longevity.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.
“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion” – Abraham Lincoln
“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better” – Abraham Lincoln
“The best way to predict your future is to create it” – Abraham Lincoln
“The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man” – Charles Darwin
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change” – Charles Darwin
The last quote is my favorite.
Many humans believe in creationism, many humans believe in evolution, and many humans believe in a mix of both. Yet none of us have full access to completely understanding to the external changes that may have taken place to all humans during all the centuries of the past, but what we all do absolutely have access to, is the internal changes we as humans can immediately implement today in our own minds, how we treat each other, and how we chose to live our lives.
Change can mean being open to new ideas, new inputs, even those that might challenge our status quo. Even if we have invested a long time to think a certain way, we should also be open to new changes that might challenge our beliefs and theories, and at the same time educate and inspire us. Change can happen instantly, and the faster we are at adapting to change, the better we will be. We should not be afraid of change, but open to it, and realize that there are much more interesting and new developments that we can all reach when we embrace change.
For my birthday, it’s always customary to blow out the candles and make a wish. But like everything this year, instead of having an actual cake and blowing out actual candles, I’m going to do it virtually.
For my birthday this year, I wish each and every one of you a year of positive change. I wish you a change in your life that will positively make your year a better one. Whether it’s love, wealth, health, happiness, or any other positive change you wish, I wish that change will happen to you. I wish you the positive change not only for you, but for me, and everyone else. As the more positive change that will happen in your life, the more positive change you will help create for all the rest of us.
Many of you might have expected an invitation to my birthday party like last year. Don’t worry, that will happen next year. Yet instead, for this year, I hope you have enjoyed my birthday blog post, which is certainly a change from years past 🙂
Amazing
I hope you had a nice daaay Jon and thank you for this email, I like that it always comes with some curious and historical information!!! <3