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Getting Into The Holiday Spirit

So, yesterday we took some of the edge off of the holidays by breaking things down into small, manageable tasks. Everything that needs to get done gets done and you’ve got time left over to truly enjoy the holidays.

What does that really mean?

Reflections On Holiday Spirit

I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending. ~Fred Rogers

How do you really feel here at the beginning of the holiday season?

Does the setting up and cleaning up weigh on you like a sack full of regifted presents?
Are you still stressed and burdened by all the obligations and activities?

~ OR ~

Do you remember the fun you had as a child?
Do you feel the hope, peace, joy and love of Advent?
Do you delight in the celebration of giving and receiving on Christmas morning?

Which part of YOU is in charge during the holidays?

Your Inner Child

Caring for your inner child has a powerful and surprisingly quick result: Do it and the child heals. ~Martha Beck

Think for a moment about the little child inside of you – the child who loved the holidays. What delighted you about Christmas? Did you enjoy decorating your house, baking the cookies, singing the songs, wrapping the presents?

~ OR ~

Were the holidays a sad time or a time of loneliness due to the loss of a loved one? Were they a time of stress in your family or a time of heartbreak due to not having enough money?  Was there abuse around the holiday time?

Whatever the state of Christmases past, you have an opportunity now, as an adult, to give your own inner child the Christmas (s)he wants and deserves.

You have an opportunity to live in gratitude for what you have rather than anxiety over what you feel you have to do. Instead of choosing to dread or resist the holiday spirit, why not be open to it?

Embrace it and feel the grace of it!

Most kids are really excited about receiving gifts, but many children also feel equally excited about giving gifts. Let your inner child do the shopping for gifts and delight in picking out just the right gift for friends and loved ones.

Let the child inside of you find some way to give freely and some way to share your love. Even if you are alone or broke, don’t waste the season feeling sorry for yourself. Find a way to give your caring to someone who has less than you.

Holiday Hospitality

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. ~King David of Israel

The holiday spirit is about gratitude and giving.

Take this opportunity to notice how fulfilling it is to give joyously rather than to be angry or resentful about the work involved. This is a wonderful time to discover how full your heart feels when you choose to feel grateful rather than grumpy.

Feelings come from thoughts

If you choose to think:

• “Oh no, the holidays are here already. There is just too much work to do.”
  You may feel anxious and overwhelmed
• “What a nuisance it is to have to go out and buy presents.”
  You may feel resentful
• “Another holiday season and I am still alone.”
  You may feel depressed
• “This is just a commercial holiday so businesses can make money.”
  You may feel angry

~ However~

If you choose to think:

• “How can I make this fun?”
  You may feel excited
• “How can I give to others this holiday?”
  You may feel open-hearted
• “I get to buy things for the people I love!”
  You may feel grateful

So who do you want to be this holiday season?

 

You can choose to be:

• a Grinch: close-hearted and angry about Christmas
• tense
• anxious
• judgmental
• depressed
• fearful
• withdrawn
• resistant

~ OR ~

You can choose to be:

• happy
• peaceful
• excited
• grateful
• loving
• open-hearted
• joyous

It is all up to you.

How you feel is the result of how you choose to think about the holidays.

Making Ebeneezer’s Decision

I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone! ~Ebeneezer Scrooge

Try an experiment this holiday season.

Refuse to allow negative thoughts.

Make a list of positive thoughts so that as soon as a negative thought comes up you can imagine changing stations on your radio. Switch to the positive channel, then notice how you feel!

Some More Ideas