Today Alexa let me know that it was International Data Privacy Day. I thought it was kind of funny that one of the biggest data-rich companies in existence gave me a push notification acknowledging data privacy, but hey, I guess Amazon was being a good neighbor by letting me know. Anyway, it got me thinking about all the National Day of This Thing or International Day of That Thing out there, and I wondered what other kinds of days were being celebrated around the country.

I found a website dedicated to keeping track of this, and it has all sorts of goodies for us. January 29th is National Curmudgeon Day. I imagine my father would have liked that day very much. He was a prickly old dude and I’m guessing that someone like him made-up the day. January 29th is also National Freethinkers Day. I can get onboard that one. Maybe freethinkers are the ones who decided to let the curmudgeons share the day with them. Hard to say. But it’s fun to check out all the days and things we can celebrate. Im always down for a celebration.

January 31st is National Inspire Your Heart With Art Day. I think I’ll celebrate the day by creating some sort of temporary art. I’m thinking of using elements found in nature, like leaves, stones, sand, and sticks. It might be hard to find some of those things during the cold, wintry January here in Virginia, and I know I won’t find any flower petals, but you get the idea of what I’m thinking.

It requires some freethinking to be able to grab whatever is nearby and turn it into an image or sculpture, and it requires a type of zen to accept that after you make your art, it will be blown away by the wind, or swept away by the ocean tide. But it’s a beautiful reminder that beauty is in everything and everything can be viewed with an artistic eye. And it reminds me to appreciate what’s happening in the here and now.

Here’s the link to check it out yourself: The List of National Days https://www.listofnationaldays.com/