Hurry Less, Worry Less at Christmas
A Sweet and Special Time of Year
Most of the people I know are nearly obsessed with time—not enough time, how fast time is passing, where the time goes. Part of the way we live is by annual markers, those events that roll around year in and year out, reminding us of the passage of time.
For many people, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of “The Holidays,” that time of year when you feel as if you have more to do than you will ever get done. But what if you slowly began to change this outlook? What if, instead of the beginning of the hectic, harried, sometimes hurtful holidays, Thanksgiving heralded the beginning of a sweet and special time of year? What if it became a season when you began anew to focus on what really matters to you and what you want from life?
How might that work? And, if it did, how might you feel?
Thanksgiving does not have to be the launching point for weeks of too much—too much food, too much spending, and too many activities. It can be the starting point of a new way of living and thinking.
This is not as hard as it may sound. First, in early to mid-November, take a few minutes to begin thinking about what you want your holidays to look and feel like. Consider how you can end the year in a strong and happy way and start the New Year with hope and joy. Most of us do not have time for long periods of solitude and reflection. But we can find moments here and there to assess how we are living and how we want to live. No matter how busy we are, we can find time to do the things that matter the most to us.
When you start thinking about who will carve the turkey, carve out some time to think about the season. Grab a notebook or tablet and begin to jot down your heart’s desire for this time of year and a step or two that you can take to create a more joyful season...agree to step back and begin to reflect on Thanksgiving as a gate to something amazing.
Now list what you are thankful for. List twenty things. Then list twenty more. Keep at this until you have at least one hundred items written down. You will start with the most obvious: perhaps your spouse and children, good health, a special friend. But as you list more, you will begin to think about smaller things you enjoy and are thankful for: a moment in a comfortable chair drinking coffee in the morning, or a visit with a neighbor on the porch.
Continue.
Go deeper.
As you do, you will begin to notice your surroundings with a new appreciation.
From Hurry Less, Worry Less at Christmas by Judy Christie Copyright © 1997 Dimensions for Living © 2011 Abingdon Press All rights reserved.