September’s Rebirth

Since childhood, I have always considered September my month of rebirth. Usually, when I say things like this, I try to dilute its seriousness by following up with a funny sentence, but not today.

I’ve always believed that our ancestors and whatever deity one believes in consciously seek us out throughout the year. However, during our birth month, they seek us out even more. And so I’ve always believed in meeting our birth months (and birthdays) with intentionality. By introspecting on our journey so far and thinking about what is to come, we can recognize good and bad patterns and decide who and what matters the most to us.

It’s also a month I prioritize self-care, according to my definition: I am mindful of the people I allow in my space and the people I share my energy with. I become even more mindful of the words I speak to myself and those I say to others. I read new books that remind me of happy memories — or places that make me happy, like Nsukka. I listen to music that’s uplifting (and most likely features the ogene). Most importantly, where life permits, I take a week off to detox and think about the theme for the next 11 months.

If we’ve ever been close, you must have noticed how, some years, I have really tall dreams, and sometimes I have quieter dreams. It’s because there’s a time and season for everything. You must be at peace and in alignment with who you truly are to be able to discern what the season requires of you.

I’d like to end by making a point about being comfortable in each season, especially in your quieter seasons. For some years, I’ve felt I needed to focus on minor or mundane things. The thing about seasons like this is that you often don’t have something fancy to show the outside world. No finished products, no degrees, mental health can be fire, but no one cares because ‘have you heard what so and so is doing?’ On days when I feel the anxiety of ‘not showing’ creeping up, I always remind myself to go back to all the conversations I had with myself and the one who created me the previous September, to the goals we set together, to the ones we achieved, and the ones we are yet to achieve, and to the reason why we set them in the first place.