With Christmas around the corner and another year coming to an end, this is when we try to cram it all in. Last minute shopping, party planning, resolution making, work wrap up and manic trips to the post office become all consuming.
Instead, I’d like to suggest that we can stop now. Christmas will come even if we don’t buy one more thing, bake one more cookie or hang one more strand of lights. We will all ring in the new year even if packages go out late, or we don’t plan the perfect midnight toast.
Instead of rushing, cramming, and getting it all done, you can stop now.
Stop and …
- meet a friend for coffee
- listen to a beautiful Winter Song
- walk in the snow
- help a neighbor
- love more deeply
- watch your favorite holiday movie (my fav is The Holiday
) - walk your neighborhood or go downtown to see twinkle lights
)Give yourself permission to slow down and enjoy the last few days of the year. Think about the things that made you happy and sad, and the things that made you laugh really hard this year. Think about the people that left your life, and the new people that joined your journey. Slow down and be grateful for what’s happening in your life right at this very moment and for the opportunities a new year will offer.
Maybe the things you can’t stop have nothing to do with the holidays. Things like feeling guilt over things left undone in or planning for for the future. You can stop now. Choose joy over guilt. Those undone things are in the past. Your time is right now. You have a whole new year in front of you to explore and plan or navigate with no goals at all. It’s a miracle that you get to make all of these choices. Celebrate the little steps and be grateful instead of sorry for things that have passed by or anxious for things that haven’t happened yet.
If your end of the year to do list is overwhelming, right now is the time to cut it down or get rid of it completely. Create a little time and space to soak in holiday joy, revel in miracles and feel grateful that you have the opportunity to choose to stop now.
Wishing you a slow, merry, happy end to one year and the beginning of another.
