We’ve rounded the corner– the shortest day of the year is behind us. Slowly but surely, more and more light will now begin to roll in to our days and nights.
For some, this is predictable good news. Longer hours of light and sunshine mean more hours to be outside and a boost in energy overall. The course has changed to downhill, and perhaps your wheels are turning a bit more easily now. The darkest, longest days are over and the hardest part may feel like it is behind you.
For many of us, the holidays are characterized by feelings of joy and hope. Shared meals with family and friends, Christmas gatherings with colleagues, gift giving, and religious rituals that recall a spiritual promise of anticipation and new life mark the holiday season. For others, however, finding happiness and hope during the holidays is more challenging. Family discord, loneliness, and financial hardship make us feel more ‘blue’ than joyful, more despairing than hopeful.
As we are in the throes of holiday preparation, the majority of us are short fused and forgetful. This is definitely due to the amount of holiday shopping, stressed out shoppers & sales reps. Of course, not forgetting the upcoming family drama that you will be involved in or thrown into. As much as we feel cheered by the holiday carols, it definitely is not easy to enjoy it with a peaceful heart. We always wonder if is there a way around this. Maybe there is and maybe there is not. Let’s read on to see if there is a way we can make it feel slightly easier.
This week, I’ve been listening to a series of NPR pieces about stress in the lives ofAmericans. I heard about a single mom with diabetes who is struggling to maintain her health; and about a single dad who is struggling to work full time and provide a normal life to his three children; and about a mother of two who had gone back to school to become a teacher and has been unable to find a job now that she has finally finished her degree.
We have all had days when we are just not focused on the tasks at hand, when something else seems overwhelmingly “stuck” in our minds and prevents us from focusing on the present. Have you ever experienced this? Some have described the feeling as akin to an enveloping fog. There may be obligations and deadlines whirring around, yet they seem distant and unable to penetrate the stupor that encircles you.