Today I turn 43, and I want to say that life is beautiful in its variety.
Last birthday, I spent the day in a jail cell, and the only people who congratulated me were the police officers making their rounds and my cellmate, Zhenya.
This morning, my wife and children wished me a happy birthday, and later my colleagues at ACF (Anti-Corruption Foundation) did too. And my former cellmate Zhenya sent me a text message, laughing about how we drank celebratory tea with cookies.
The second option is, of course, far preferable, but comparing it with the first helps one fully appreciate its beauty.
But besides its variety, life is also beautiful in its constancy. Every year on my birthday, I write: thank you to all the good people I have met along the way.
Just now I sat down, thought about it, and decided that over the past year too, I have met far more good people than not-so-good ones.
So at 43, I say what I always do: thank you all very much.