Happy Birthday, Baby!

The United Nations has announced the day we’ll hit a global population of 8 billion human souls

Graphic by the author, with photos by (from top left) Mindy Olson P | Unsplash, Aikomo Opeyemi | Unsplash, Annie Spratt | Unsplash, Piman Khrutmuang | Dreamstime, Isaac Quesada | Unsplash, Wavebreak Media Micro | Dreamstime, Catalina Carvajal-Herrera | Pexels, Antoni Shkraba | Pexels, and Barbara Ribeiro | Pexels.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for this auspicious birthday: On November 15, 2022, the global human population is expected to reach 8 billion, according to the United Nations. It’s kind of astonishing that they can put a specific date on it.

I think we should have a gigantic global birthday party for this brand-new soul, wherever in the world he, she, or they arrive.

Incredibly, approximately 1,000 babies are born every 4 minutes on the planet. Where will the next 1,000 babies be born? Here’s a fascinating graphic by Visual Capitalist:

Graphic by Visual Capitalist (published Aug. 19, 2022). Used by permission.

But enough yammering. It’s time to welcome this new babe to our sometimes inhospitable planet.

Welcome to the world, baby! Let’s cover you with love and blessings and so much care. You’re going to need it, regardless of your status, your gender, your birthplace, or your family. Because life is just hard sometimes. It can be excruciatingly painful and magnificently blissful, and it all gets mixed together in a gargantuan long-term event called “living.”