If you feel like the hustle and bustle of Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are beating you down and the clock is ticking faster than you can keep up. STOP, and take the time to breathe. Breathe deeply, slowly, and with purpose. Count for a minute while you just let the oxygen flow from your head to your toes. See it swirling through your body, use the image of white light if that helps you see it. In only a minute you can regroup and relax. Now look at your to-do list and see all they you’ve done, cross off the unnecessary, and reorder the items by importance.
While this week brings the three big holidays one after the other, it is important for you to make the time to reduce your holiday stress. Notice the key words, “make the time.” When you have tackled a few big items on your list, be sure to do something special for your health and wellness today that lasts more than a minute. Take a long hot shower, have a cup of herbal tea, write in your gratitude journal, or call a friend, all the while remembering to breathe. Go ahead, you deserve it…and do not worry; everything that is important will get done, and it does not have to be perfect. When the hustle and bustle take over, it’s time to reclaim your time, and realize that it is about enjoying the season, not performing, exhausting, or overextending yourself.
I found this quote and thought it interesting since Jane Austen wrote it nearly two hundred years ago. It stopped me from being swept up earlier this week in a whirlwind of activity and put things into perspective. I hope it does the same for you! ~ Wishing you love, happiness, and enjoyment this holiday season, Luci
Life is just a quick succession of busy nothings.
Jane Austen (1775 – 1817)
Mansfield Park
