Keep Your Well Being Intact During the Holidays

Well being is possible no matter who you are, where you are, or what holiday is about to crash down around us. Since Thanksgiving is here and Christmas is nigh, it’s time to put strategies in place for moving through these experiences well.

2020 has been an especially odd year and depending on your viewpoint you probably fall into one of five categories:

• I am non-traditional and never do anything for the holidays, so nothing much is different this year.
• I modified this holiday due to health or financial concerns.
• Nothing has changed, I’m having my traditional holiday with all the joy, work, and stress that comes with it.
• I’m alone for the holidays, which is not a problem.
• I am alone for the holidays, which is a problem.

Wherever you land in this array of options, your well being will be influenced by the experience.
Here is one simple thing you can do that will access your personal power and put it at your disposal:

BE the THERMOSTAT, not the thermometer.

To be the thermostat, you select an emotional temperature and maintain it.
You can be warm with people in chilly conversations, you can stay cool when others are heating up. In any circumstance you recognize the choice of your reaction is entirely under your control.

Each of us is more powerful than we imagine.
The thermostat person doesn’t get drawn into pointless arguments, when the option of simply loving one another is also on the table. The thermostat person decides to be cheerful, or kind, or quietly peaceful no matter what he or she is asked to bear or forego. The thermostat person remembers to find his or her inner strength and maturity before speaking or taking action, and then lets them shine!

I’ve spent the last two months with my daughter’s family welcoming their new baby into the world and offering extra attention my two older granddaughters. As I hold my new grandchild, I see the utter beauty of her being and her worth. Each person reading this has that same inner beauty and worth. You matter now, and you have always mattered, even if no one in your world has the wisdom or depth to reflect that back to you. Become the thermostat person, who does not have to look to others for affirmation or belonging. In this way, your peace will rise and your joy will blossom.

Blessings to each of you beautiful beings.

In case you need a bit more…
As an added resource I offer some topical reading from my recently published book about keeping Christmas in our hearts every day of the year, What the Soul Wants for Christmas. The book helps the reader, over the course of a full year if one does a bit each week or faster if someone reads topically, construct a more practical, respectful, and meaningful holiday experience.

Getting through the holidays civilly: Week 31- We Gather Together: Table Manners for the Modern Age

Handling unwanted isolation: Week 34- Prescription for Loneliness

Facing grief in the holidays: Week 45- When Sorrow Comes at Christmas

Wisely dealing with a difficult family: Week 43- Facing Unfairness Wisely and Well