Monday, December 14, 2009

jolly or humbug?

Take a deeeeep breath. Go on. You can do it.

Okay. Now then...

I thought today would be a good day to offer up some seeds for the coming weeks...as Christmas and New Year's Day loom ever closer. Seems to me, no matter how much I speak on this, or offer up little bits of laughter, there are still those who're completely overwhelmed, stressed out, burned out, freakin' out, and flat-out in a tizzy. But I'm going to offer it up again...just cuz.

Maybe it's because I'm don't get into the frenzy of shopping {there IS another way to approach this!} Or maybe it's because I've finally figured out that the 'holiday season' is about gatherings with loved ones, not about gifts and money and all that jazz. Or...maybe...it's just because I happen to find the whole season a supergroovyblast. I'm a kid...I don't deny this. So when Thanksgiving rolls around, I get as excited as I did when I was 5. I look out the window when it's raining and I imagine it's snowing. I can see Santa flyin' around in the sky and the reindeer towing the sleigh, I can hear the jingle bells jinglin', and the HO!HO!HO! and I can see all the goodies on the kitchen table on Christmas morning, the result of my mom's weeks of baking and hiding the cookies so there'd be some left on Christmas morning.

To this very day, I really do get that excited about the holidays. Even when I go into town whether it's to shop for groceries or gifts, I take the time to get into 'mode', knowing that there's going to be more traffic, more people in the stores, more Cranky Pants doing their own versions of the Grinch. I put on my Santa hat or my antlers (they light up!) and my jingle bells (oh yea. I have some of those...and they work wonderfully on whatever boots I happen to put on), I wear little Christmas light earrings (these light up too) and I set out with a jolly attitude and a mindset that I will NOT be in a hurry. Take my time, enjoy the lights and the songs and the merry people I ALWAYS run into (funny thing about this: when I set that intention, I rarely run into those cranky pants types...go figure) And inevitably, the whole thing turns into a fun adventure (as opposed to a holiday nightmare).

In short, it's about ATTITUDE. It's about making up your mind to have fun with all of it. It's about letting go of all the rushing and shoving and resisting. You already KNOW what you're going to face. Traffic. Hordes of shoppers. Long lines. And maybe a Scrooge or two. So, rather than dreading it, make up your mind to find the joy. LOOK for it! Sing a song. Wear your Santa hat or some antlers. Put your engine in low gear and just cruise. It's so much more fun...and so much less stressful...and when you get back home, you're not going to be all frazzled and grumpy. Instead, you're likely to be enjoying the season for what it is: a time to spread joy and lift yourself up and gather 'round the fire with those people who make you smile. As for the rest? If they want to be miserable, that's their choice. Ain't your job to talk 'em out of it. Ain't your job to try to change them. As ol' Mr. Lincoln said:

"every man has the right to be as happy or as miserable as he chooses".

So...what's YOUR choice?

1 comment:

Mother Connie said...

Here is some free advice for YOU and keep in mind that free advice is only worth what you pay for it:

WATCH OUT FOR THE FUN POLICE!

It's people like you-and me-they lie in wait to catch having a good time so they can rain on our parades!

Merry Christmas!

and hugs

from Mother Connie