With such a call for cheer and celebration, many of us struggle to be fully present through all the festivities. The intensity of this time of year pushes us into overdrive when our natural cycle is asking to slow down, rest and go inward. But when you’re feeling stressed or just blah, how do you connect to the joy and dare we say, peace? Ask yourself the three questions below, allowing time to drop into your truth and see what answers begin to arrive.
1) What do I want to feel this season?
Since we tend to focus most on what we don’t want to feel–dread, exhaustion, anger, obligation, our energy goes into how to avoid the pain. This can squeeze out being able to entertain the positives. Just becoming aware of what would spark happiness and peace lights up different parts of the brain. It also gives the brain, mind and heart a path to follow, creating greater space and likelihood that the positive will manifest. As it’s been said through the centuries and now proven through neuroscience, “what we think, becomes our reality.”
2) What is your favorite part of this time of year?
Whatever it is, from placing the elf on the shelf for the 1st time to gathering non-perishables for the holiday food drive, if it opens your heart or speaks to your soul, give yourself permission to become fully absorbed into that moment. The more present you are for when the joy happens organically, the more likely it will either stay with you or show up again more easily.
3) What will best support you in how you want to feel?
Piggy-backing on question #2, bring to mind any other activities (and non-activities) that create contentment for you. Let those ideas breathe inside your awareness and your planning. Next, think about what is depleting and how those aspects of the holidays can be eliminated or minimized. Knowing that letting go of a long-standing ritual can create a new wave of anxiety, remember that anything you do differently (i.e. non-traditionally) you can just try out for one season. Maybe this year you ‘d like to let go of installing lights across the entire perimeter of your roof. Next season, you might feel differently. Whatever you do, just let it be because the spirit moved you.
