Trending
Think about the following questions, and take some time to come up with your answers. What's most meaningful to you about the holidays? What would your Thanksgiving and Christmas be like if they were truly wonderful? What makes it all worth it? Many say that what makes it wonderful is time to enjoy relationships with family and friends, a time to refocus on what's really important, celebrating Jesus' birth, doing good for others, and so on.
On the other hand, what often makes your holiday time take a turn for the worse? Could it be too much time with family and friends? A lack of time to focus on what's really important? keeping a hectic holiday schedule on top of "normal" life? The reason most people think the Chevy Chase movie "Christmas Vacation" is so funny is that it hits so close to home. We can relate! We all build up our expectations for the "most wonderful time of the year" and get frustrated when it doesn't happen just like we've imagined. How can we make sure the holidays are filled with peace and good tidings instead of high stress? A book by Spencer Johnson entitled "The Present" provides some simple and timely advice on living with more joy and less stress. Christmastime is the perfect time to heed this advice. The basic idea is to live in the moment. The author tells us living in the present moment is really a gift we give to ourselves. Remember a time when you were thoroughly enjoying yourself or were completely absorbed in the task at hand? You weren't thinking about the past or the future at that time, only the present moment. An example could be mowing the grass, sled riding, building or making something. When you are engaged in tasks like these it's harder to get stuck in the past or worry about the future.
Depression results from being stuck on how the past went wrong or on predictions of how the future will go wrong. Anxiety is often about being focused on what we are afraid may happen in the near future. The thing is we have no ability to go back in time and fix what went wrong, and we aren't really good at predicting the future either. In the book, "The Present," the author suggests the best thing we can do is LIVE in the present, LEARN from the past, and PLAN for the future, rather than live in the past, learn from it and then you can let the past alone. If the future is worrying you, the best way to control the future is to plan for it. That is the only way to make the future better than the present. The past is gone, NOW is all there is. Use it or lose it. As you live in the present moment, be mindful of just being there. Deepak Chopra has stated; "I am a human being. Not a human doing. Not a human thinking. A human being." This is good to remember. Just be. The way to really be present is to become absorbed in the moment rather than focused on to-do lists and filling every moment with activity. When you are really there in the moment (rather than distracted by the past or future) your kids will know it. Kids are better than us about being in the present moment. They will respond to your ability to be there with them. You will enjoy it more and so will they. This is how your presence becomes one of the best gifts you can give your family this Christmas.