How to Successfully Navigate the Emotions of the Holidays
It’s that merry time of the year once again.
It’s time to spend good times with good family and enjoy the spirit of the season…or so it seems. For many of us, the holiday season seems full of stress, drama, and craziness on huge levels!
How do we navigate the holidays with family that we might or might not be on good terms with and still have peace within us? It’s a hard proposition I tell ya! However, we can do it with our will and good perspective on expectations.
For Peace of Mind and Heart, go to the family holiday dinner this year choosing to be OK with how the day turns out, positive or negative. Let go of the expectation that it will go or should be a certain way. When you let go of this expectation, you are allowing people to be who they are (even if its Crazy Sally again!) while also pro-actively taking charge of your own peace within.
Here are three other tips to help navigate the “deep waters” of family time during the holiday season.
1. Breathe – but I’m doing that right now Taylor! Yes, you are but remember to consciously breathe if you find yourself in an emotional reaction. We get shallow with our breath in emotional mode and this sets us up to “fight or flee.” When you feel a charge coming on, take some long, deep breaths and you will quell that automatic response. This sounds as easy as eating a delicious warm slice of apple pie with ice cream dripping on top, but it’s harder than you think. Conscious breathing raises your awareness of the situation.
2. Approach the Holidays from Peace – go into your family time with the Intention of Peace. Say something to the effect of, “I WILL have a Peaceful Holiday Season no matter what or who comes my way.” By firmly setting this intention, you are activating the faculties in you that will allow for peace and joy to flourish among the chaos that ensues around you. Your Will, in conjunction with the Power of Intention, work together to allow peace to happen.
3. Remember why we do this – we get together with family to count our blessings and give thanks for what we have right now. This is the reason for the season, a time to be kind, forgiving, loving, and peaceful. I like to think of it as tossing the good stone or the bad stone. Whatever stone you toss into the pond will ripple out to everyone around you. Toss the kind of stone you want to see come back your way and that’s just what you’ll get.
Have a blessed end to 2012! Here is a heartfelt wish to you and your family to experience abounding peace, love, and joy this Holiday Season!