"I hate Christmas!"

 

Is this a phrase you have found yourself uttering over the past several weeks?

 

Maybe you surprise yourself when you say it. Maybe HATING Christmas

is a long standing sentiment you are validated in feeling. The question

is, are you going to do something about it?

 

Should you torture yourself by ENDURING the holiday celebrations with

people you supposedly love? Is FORCING yourself to see family and friends

really what the season is about?

 

You might be missing something if gathering with loved ones truly is so taxing.

 

 

Let's reassess.

 

O.Kay, you are busy. You are rushed. Somehow you always seem to run out of time.

Someone will be angry with someone else, when you finally reach your celebration

destination, and that awkward moment of hurt feelings LOOMING in the air will

be most uneasy. Maybe, you are the organized, detailed specific, person everyone

relies on as they come and go as they please (a blatant disregard for the timeliness

required for presenting meal courses) with, certainly, no offers to help.

Surely, THIS will be the year you drop the turkey and run from the room screaming.

 

Really?

 

 

Listen: STOP. Breathe for a moment... two, three, four...

What are you getting so "caught up in?"Are your expectations (or someone else's

expectations) so important, it is worth making visits with each other a CHORE?

 

The point is, you are gathering with your people of choice for a reason.

Maybe you feel forced or obligated (which is unfortunate, considering they are

important people in your life). But, maybe, deep down you are looking forward

to seeing your siblings and their children, or your parents as well as Old

Auntie Sue because they are part of your history, representatives of yourself

in the past, current day and future - which is actually quite interesting. SOMEHOW,

YOUR family line managed to survive all these millenniums of human

existence. That in itself is cause for celebration! That dysfunction may be your secret

to success, if you allow yourself the opportunity to examine it.

 

Why not wax poetic about the time Uncle Jimmy ran over your left foot with his motorbike.

You survived, didn't you? The "accident" actually makes for a great story, or book, or MOVIE!

 

Remember, YOU are in charge of HOW YOU re/act this season.

 

STOP playing the role of the headless chicken, ONLY SPEND WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD!

If your childhood and family life was so bad. Don't do it. Don't go to the family gathering

wasting precious time on this Earth "faking, forcing and feeling bad." Go out with friends, instead. Heck, if you get pleasure from it, WORK instead.

 

If you really want to get out of your rut (and over yourself), volunteer to serve

some people ACTUALLY with no family, NO food and or NO shelter over their head.

 

Maybe that will help put your life back in perspective.