I love having fun!  I love spending time with family and friends! I love making memories! There are so many fun options this time of year that it’s easy to overcommit.  If there’s one thing I’ve discovered over the years, however, is that less truly is more!  I find that even fun things, when there are too many of them, can become devoid of fun, or even worse, stressful.

Until more recently than I care to admit, I have viewed each event on it’s own merit, without asking myself how it fit into the entire picture. If it sounded like fun and the space on my calendar was free, I would automatically agree to it.  The result was that I found myself rushing from one event to another without the necessary breathing room between them to fully appreciate each one.  There was no time to recharge and renew myself or to even ponder conversations I had just had.  I was on to the next…

And that, my friends, is how I would get to the actual Holiday, totally depleted of energy, let alone, the joy I was expecting to experience.  It vanished with exhaustion taking its place. It left me looking forward to the beloved holiday being over.  How could something that I looked forward to and enjoyed so much have become such a burden?!

Is it possible to be intentional about the upcoming Holiday Season?  Or must I get caught up, once again, in a whirlwind of festive activities?  Breaking old habits and creating new ones can be challenging!

As I sit, in the quiet dawn of a new day, post-Thanksgiving, I ask myself, “How will I make this one different, more meaningful, less stressful? How do I become more present not only to each event but to each exchange I am a part of?”

For me, this means not being rushed or stressed and being able to savor the moment(s); it’s sitting in front of the Christmas tree, twinkling with little lights in the quiet, feeling enveloped in love, taking the time to enjoy the memories that produced those feelings of warmth to begin with.

This certainly will mean limiting the number of events, saying ‘no’ when I’m so tempted to say yes.  It’s not overcrowding my calendar by taking the time to pause… to be thoughtful in considering which to attend and which to pass up on.

What it boils down to is not the number of festivities I take part in that will bring me Holiday Joy, but rather, how I show up.  Ultimately, inner harmony trumps festive activities every time!

~Zanne

InSearchOfAuthenticity.com

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