April and May have been chock-full of events worth celebrating! One of the most exciting events in April was the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, which just took place on the 23rd. In his play, Richard II, Shakespeare eulogized about “this scepter’d isle”. The speech referenced our wonderful country and how it’s worthy of celebration — but it makes you wonder how well Shakespeare would recognise his England today.
I think England is still a wonderful island, especially when you consider that we have our freedom. I’ll be watching with great interest how the big referendum on whether the country stays in Europe or leaves. Brexit or Remain?
The London mayoral election is another huge event to watch. After all, it’s another freedom that we can celebrate. We now have the liberty to make these kinds of decisions — a pretty dramatic shift from Shakespeare’s time. We can celebrate how far England has come and how wonderful a place it is to live in 2016.
Aside from these major issues and the privileges we enjoy as a free nation, there are plenty of smaller moments to celebrate. I’ve been staying very busy at work with plenty of new instructions, and I think that’s worth celebrating. Hopefully you have work success of your own that you can stop and appreciate.
Another great event to celebrate is your birthday. You probably don’t know this,
I think one of the biggest takeaways from this talk of celebration is to be present or in the moment. As busy as we all are, it’s particularly meaningful to take even a few minutes to reflect on your blessings and actively appreciate the good things in your life.
but all of my family members’ birthdays take place this time of year in the span of about a week:
- My wife, Suzanne’s, is the 26th of April
- My daughter, Rosie’s, is the 1st of May
- Mine’s the 2nd of May
- My son, David’s, is the 4th of May
Interestingly, Shakespeare was also born on the 26th of April (in 1564), so he shares my wife’s birthday. And it just so happens that my birth year is 1964, which is 400 years after his! I thought that was an amusing coincidence as we think about the anniversary of his passing during this time.
I think one of the biggest takeaways from this talk of celebration is to be present or in the moment. As busy as we all are, it’s particularly meaningful to take even a few minutes to reflect on your blessings and actively appreciate the good things in your life.
During this period of so many things to celebrate, I’d like to call out my team, the Tottenham Hotspur. We are currently second in the premier league table, and as of this writing, we are chasing an outside chance of winning the lead title by the middle of May. If they win, it’ll be the first time that has happened within my lifetime — the last time they won was 1962.
I encourage us all to take a moment to celebrate all that is good and great about “this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England”.
Best Wishes,
Steve Lazarus
