Stop and start enjoying

Stop and Start Enjoying

The holidays seem to be so stressful.  Everyone is rushing around to make sure they get certain gifts, get their house decorated a certain way, send Christmas cards, attend parties, bake cookies and the list could go on. All that hustle and bustle is great if you are really enjoying all the activities, however, I think for most people, they dread more of it than they enjoy. 

What if we all did what we wanted to do over this holiday season? Let's make a list of the activities that bring us joy and take those that we find non enjoyable off the list. Maybe we could make a commitment to ourselves and our well-being, instead of to people and things we really don't care that much about. We all have activities like, cookie exchanges, different holiday parties, Secret Santa exchanges, dinners, etc, that we sometimes do not want to do, but feel guilty if we don't do them. We need to release the guilt and find the joy. If going to that party feels like more of a hassle, then don't go. Replace the party with a different activity that brings your soul love. 

Leave your holiday season open to spontaneous adventures with your kids, relatives, significant others and yourself. Allow that time for ice skating, driving around to look at lights, sitting by a warm fire all snuggled watching a Christmas movie, an exciting lunch with an old friend and all the various other fun events this holiday season. If we have our days and weekends so packed with things we don't even want to do because we feel obligated, then it zaps all the fun out of the holidays. 

Maybe some of the non-enjoyable things on your list is having to cook something to take to a party. Instead of cooking, it's perfectly okay to run to the store and buy something to share. Some people dread having everyone over to their house, because we feel like the house needs to be perfectly clean, every dish matching, and food done all at once. Drop your ego. It does not matter if you have Christmas dishes and if they are all a matching set or if every corner is dusted. No one will notice. If they do, then that's their issue. Find enjoyment in having everyone over to your house. Stop stressing over things that are really not important. People come over to eat, drink and be merry. They don't care what they eat on, when it comes out of the oven or how its presented. They only notice when you make a fuss over it. So, stop, and start enjoying. 

Do all the things you enjoy this holiday season, but if you have to do something that you normally dread, find something positive out of the experience. Go into it with love in your heart. Look at a person that maybe is the reason you dread going, and ask yourself how you can you bring love into their life. Stay in the moment. Try not to think about the event at all prior to going, just show up in love and find the positive. If you have to bake cookies, then invite someone over to help, get kids involved or put on your favorite music and just enjoy the baking. I think if we eliminate some of the stuff we don't have to do, replace it with what brings our soul joy, and then we'd find it’s easier to enjoy the obligations that are non-negotiable. 

This holiday season, let it be peaceful and enjoyable. Do things that make you happy. Release the guilt of not doing things you don't want to do. Show up to every event you chose with love. Keep in mind the real meaning of the holidays. I hope that this year is the best holiday season yet, because you chose what is important for you.