At first glance the holidays exude a joyful and spirited time of year. Parties and merriment abound while ’tis-ing the season to give warms and fills our hearts. While this may be true for some, for others the holidays can bring up challenging and negative feelings and emotions around the excessive commercialism of our society, grief and sadness over the loss of loved ones can be especially hard during this time of year and even the anxiety over the pressure of “new beginnings” with the New Year knocking on our door can remind us of our failed attempts at resolutions and intentions in the past. How do we find a balance? How can we cut straight to the real meaning of the season which truly centers around hope and possibility? Here are three ways to check in and reconnect with discovering your own “reason for the season.”
Make a list of what you love about the holidays
Make a list of three (or more) things that you love about this time of year. Is it listening to Christmas music or making cookies with your loved ones? Is it making homemade gifts or volunteering at the local shelter. Let’s be honest – they do not say “the hustle and bustle” of the holidays for no reason. It is so easy to get caught up in what might be not important to you at all during this time of year. By keeping your list close by and when things come up that you may not feel so comfortable with, looking to your list and touching in with one of those, you can stay close to what is important to you.
Create a space to reflect on the last year
We can get so caught up in looking to the New Year to see what “we can change” about ourselves that we often forget to stop and reflect on our accomplishments, our challenges, our ups and downs and what we have learned over the past year. It’s important to look back with thoughtful reflection and perhaps with a little more of that, you will find it a bit easier to look ahead with optimism and excitement.
Find time to give back
Regardless of whether we love or hate the holiday season, making time to give is not just something we should do once a year – BUT if that is the case, being of service to others is a straight shot of love right to the heart and truly has the potential to bring an abiding peace to your soul. Perhaps it is volunteering at a shelter by cooking a holiday meal or maybe it is choosing to make donations in your families names instead of buying gifts. It is ALWAYS the season of giving around here at True Nature and we love the holidays especially because of that.
