“Buy this.”
“Try this.”
“Do this.”
“Decorate this way.”
“Gift that way.”
“Cook this meal.”
“Bake these cookies.”
Are you as sick and tired of these holiday stressors as I am?
Then, today’s edition of Love Your Body The Way It Is is just for you. In today’s video, I share a little secret to making the holidays a tad more joyful and relaxed – in your very own way.
So what do you say? Will your holiday intentions could look something like this?
“Practice gratitude.”
“Skip the gifts this year.”
“Bake cookies I truly love – no matter how plain.”
“Spend an hour a day by the fireplace and read or meditate.”
“Sing Christmas songs.”
“Have fun.”
“Enjoy time with my family.”
“Breathe peace.”
“Write letters to loved ones.”
“Relax.”
To survive them…. I made it through one thanksgiving… today I have another. and this one will be more stressful than the last one. Although the one on thanksgiving day, my one cousin asked if I was losing weight… I said no, my daughter nodded her head yes and my cousin yelled at me…. I wanted to cry. why do they do this?? I had just seen my dr and she said I was fine. Other than that THAT dinner day, was perfect. Todays, however, I will see family members who stress me, who crashed me when I got home from treatment….. I am worried. as for Christmas…. I want to be happy, relaxed. I want to have my house decorated pretty… to be able to just enjoy seeing everything the way that it used to be when I was healthy before. To listen to holiday music, play in the snow, go sledding… enjoy my son over break. And not let the inside of my body be a reminder. Just enjoy what is here… now. I have earned this… I have come a long way to see what is here right now, and I feel so good. and I will do all I can to make sure that this Christmas is the best one I have had in the last five years
Can I challenge you to find one intention outside of your illness???
Okay… you’re on. To find a new “joy” in my heart that has nothing to do with my kids, husband or anything related to my past…. only the true and creative ME. Something that will make me happy… set me free.
I LOVE this, Karen. What’s the first step you can take to get there?
I am not entirely sure… I am sort of looking into maybe possibly a few things… one is a freelance writer job online; and another is putting all my poems into a book to somehow get published either in print or online somehow…. and the third is to sell my art online in some way. I have saved the link to the freelance writer job… but right now, I have actually started a “business bootcamp”. gives you marketing ideas etc.. lasts until dec 20. all online. figure I have nothing to lose but an hour a day… 😉 figure if I end up wanting to start selling my art like I had wanted to a few years ago before I got sick.. this could help me figure out how the best way to do it. 🙂 so I have ideas. 🙂
That sounds wonderful. Great steps forward. I’m really happy to see how you’re taking your life in your hands again. No matter what happens, you will learn and learn and learn so much.
This really struck a chord in me this morning. I am feeling a bit anxious as I have a project I must mostly finish today and tomorrow and I have a vague sense of unease about Christmas and December and the cookies that are sitting in my diningroom. I honestly felt horrible emotionally about myself when I got up because I enjoyed MANY cookies yesterday. WHY? I am trying to eat in a way that makes me feel good and honestly, those cookies did not bother me one bit. I want (from my old way of thinking, the person who is used to restricting and guarding my calorie intake) those cookies to make me feel horrible so “I won’t want them”. Negating 40 plus years of restrictive eating is VERY hard at this time of the year.
I want to have a Holidays that is peaceful and full of my family. without unrealistic expectations of a time that is idealized through the media. If you know what I mean. I’m going to clear all the stuff off of my piano and get out the Christmas books and even if it is a bit out of tune, play myself through the holidays! And not feel all stressed out by what I “should or shouldn’t” be doing.
Thanks so much!
I hear you, Deb. It sures in not easy, but every year it gets easier (or so I have found!). I say enjoy the cookies and be grateful that they don’t make you feel horrible. It’s healthy to indulge a bit during the holidays. Hope you get to play the piano a lot. 🙂