The holiday season is here, and while this can be a joyful time of year, it can also be challenging. We often spend more time with family, friends and co-workers, and these interactions may be positive and they may also be difficult. We may be giving and receiving gifts which can be enjoyable, and we may also be concerned about how much money we spend, and the commercialization of this time of year. Eating and sharing meals may be particularly pleasant holiday activities, and they may be challenging if we are trying to watch our diets. Plus, the world doesn’t stop this time of year, and ongoing events may be uplifting and they may be discouraging, and even tragic.
All of these activities, and many more, are opportunities to pay attention, to notice what is arising in the present moment, and to practice being with whatever is. As we do this, we may notice the tendency to judge our experience, and we can then see if it is possible to just be with this too. In the hustle and bustle of this time of year, a key to doing this is to slow down a little and to pause at times to check in with ourselves. When we do this, we can acknowledge our own experiences with kindness, whether they are joyful or rewarding, sad or difficult. And we may also choose to extend kindness to others as they experience their own joys and difficulties. We may even be thankful that this is truly a time of year when we might experience the “full catastrophe” of being human.
As a gift to ourselves and others, may we all be more present this holiday season.
Filed Under: News and Notes