Here we are, entering Week 5 of the season that began with turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. As we have reflected together on holiday wellness, I have encouraged a process of setting do-able weekly goals that support your personal holiday values. If you are like most of us, some weeks worked better than others, some goals made a difference, and some did not survive the competition with other priorities.
With 11 days to go in 2009, how do we look at the process of establishing and maintaining habits that support the life we want to live? Are health and well-being a project we take on a few weeks at a time, once or twice a year? Or are they core elements of our life’s journey? If the former, we might drop those good intentions now and pick them up again on January 2. If the latter, we will continue using this time of extra challenge to develop skills and strengths to enter the New Year with optimism and conviction.
Let’s look at the next few days as if they were the home stretch on a long run or hike or bike ride or river trip. Since Thanksgiving we have enjoyed many holiday experiences. We have also, quite likely, gotten a flat tire, skinned a knee, or flipped in the rapids. What did we do after things went awry? Maybe we stopped, had a fit, and gave up on the trip. Maybe we allowed ourselves to remain crabby for several days, looking for someone to blame. Or maybe, like my buddy Cristi (after her Christmas tree blew off the car and the car later caught on fire and the brakes and steering went out) you laughed and said “at least no one was hurt.”
Cristi is a role model for me this season. She reminds me to take it in stride and enjoy the ride. Treat the holiday experience as a journey. Release the idea of a perfect destination. Assemble a flexible array of activities and traditions you might enjoy, then choose “in the moment” the ones that fit best for you and yours. If you try something and it doesn’t work, let go, laugh, and give thanks for the chance to learn. Stay the course.
If you can maintain a spirit of adventure and flexibility, you will be well on your way to a happy new year. You will savor the memories of lovely moments and passing stresses. You will celebrate successes. You will have energy for a surge into new beginnings. You will view those New Year’s resolutions as building on progress, not making up for past “sins.”
So, which will it be for you? What one small thing will you do in the coming week to stay the course and honor those core holiday values that mean the most?
Until the next time, go well.
Pam
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I was thinking about the tree blowing off the car and the car catching on fire. Maybe the tree was saved? I think somedays are like that and give us the perspective the appreciate the better days.
For some reason the holidays are hard on a lot of folks and simple things can become more difficult. This office is filled with folks that can't wait for January. For a lot of reasons, your excellent message this week is not being received. Not sure how to send the message in a different way. Playing a "Twisted Chirstmas" from Twisted Sister on the stereo hasn't seemed to be a popular as I thought it might be. Next week I will try something different.
--Wes--
I'm glad someone else gets a kick out of Twisted Christmas and thought about what happened to the tree after the car fire. Thanks for sharing, adding value to what was already a valuable reflection for me. Cheers to all -- jane
Post a Comment