Celebrate peace by avoiding holiday season stress.
The holiday season is officially upon us.
Isn’t it funny how we go from being thankful for what we have to the fast paced, “git ‘er done” December, purchasing things we don’t need?
Holidays should be about food, family, friends and rest, but there’s also the frensied materialism and to-do lists. I want to resist it with every gravy-filled fiber of my being. I want to slow it down, make it easier somehow, and not lose the meaning – or my mind.
This year, I want my holiday season to have more balance.
I think runners have a natural propensity to seek balance. We train and we recover. We eat and we burn our fuel. We warm up and we cool down.
As runners, we know that being out of balance makes us prone to getting injured, sick, or sidelined. We push ourselves, but then we back off and take care of ourselves. If we could apply this knowledge and awareness to the holiday season, we would be giving ourselves the perfect gift.
Here are a few holiday mantras, straight from my journal to you:
Let Enough Be Enough
Truly. When I have bought enough gifts, eaten enough snacks, socialised at enough parties and had enough to drink, I’m done.
I will sort through invitations and options with intention. What really makes me happy? What feels like an obligation? May our yesses be joyful and our noes be a relief. Doing less will help us feel like we did more – of the good stuff.
Traditions Can Be Broken
Especially when they don’t increase happiness, reverence, peace or love. It’s okay not to send every single person a holiday card, make toffee or peppermint bark for everyone at the office, host everyone again or send a gift to every single person on last year’s list. If we allow ourselves to focus our time, energy, and attention on what matters most to us, the rest won’t matter (as much).
Give Gifts – to Yourself
In the midst of doing for everyone else, it’s important to be generous to ourselves also. There is time to go for a run, to take a bubble bath, to sit and eat a decent lunch, and to honour the need for alone time in a houseful of people. Get a polished red pedicure and love yourself too!
Feelin’ It
I love the quote about how people won’t remember what you did or said as much as they will remember the way you made them feel. To accomplish this for real, we first have to feel good ourselves. I want my kids to look back on the holidays of their childhood and remember happiness, love, fun and connection. In order to create this atmosphere, I need to be present, happy, loving, fun, and connected.
If I am stressed, pressed for time, running on fumes, and snippy – no matter what I manage to get done, it won’t matter because my people will be done with me.
December is here. It’s far better to do less and love more.
