Tamar Hurwitz-Fleming is the author of “How To Have A Happy Birthday: Create Meaning, Fulfillment & Joy On Your Special Day.” After a childhood with the average balance of satisfying and disappointing birthdays herself, she realized suddenly that her insistence on celebrating a friend’s special day did not quite land. And she’s taken the time to examine why.

On today’s podcast, we are looking at the origin of birthday celebrations, the original more divine intention behind it, and the way that it became so high stakes. What does your approach to your birthday reveal about you? As we age, do birthdays get tainted by the idea of aging? Or have we, on some level, always felt like a birthday celebration is an annual exercise in being forced to question whether or not we feel worthy?