I need some suggestions from you, my friends.

You see, I have an embarrassing problem: I’m turning 40 in October.  I’m going to be, like, old.  Pretty soon, boy scouts will offer to help me to cross the street and people will give me senior citizen discounts without me even asking.  Ouch.

I would like your suggestion on how to mark this milestone in my life.  The easy solution would be a big birthday party of some sort.  But the problem is, I’m boring.  Like really boring.  I dislike parties, I dislike loud music, I dislike being in dancing crowds, and I dislike drinking alcohol.  Another easy solution for someone in my position would be to use that occasion to announce a major philanthropic gift, and have a group of people clapping and pretending to be interested (buffet provided, string quartet optional).  Yeah, I’m not THAT boring.

What to do?

What I’m hoping for is a way to have a “Birthday celebration with the Buddha”.  I honestly have no idea what that means, but here are some features I’m wishing for:

• Having a strong Buddhist theme (best if also involving Buddha Dharma).
• Bringing meaningful and sustainable benefit to many people.
• Involving one or more celebrities, such as the Dalai Lama or Natalie Portman.
• Not boring.

Let me know if you have any ideas.

If not, that’s fine too.  I’m happy to just blow a candle on a cake in the presence of my family and a cheap video cam, and then think about this problem again in 10 years.