Peace in Holiday Stress

Everyone says that holiday stress is the worst.

I get it. I hear it. I see it. I am feeling it.

Some of the time.

Other times, I’m fine.

I am becoming an observer, detaching from the mayhem. It feels wonderful. To disconnect. To stop feeling the stress and say, “No, thank you,” to a variety of things that don’t serve me.

I’m looking at the stress, staring at it, and removing myself. I’m saying, “I don’t need to engage in any of that.”

All the yogis and gurus talk about this. Detachment. But what is it? What does it actually look like?

For me, I stopped decorating my house for Christmas. The kids like to do it, so I let them. I stopped buying all the teacher gifts. I contribute to the class collection pot instead. I make time so the children can do things with me. If there isn’t time for us to do these little tasks together, they go out the window.

Want to bake cookies for your friends?

Ok.

When the kids are excited about it, I’ll do it with them. If it’s not important to them, it doesn’t have to be important to me, either.

I’m letting go.

Someone might say, “How can you let go of Christmas?”

Because Christmas is a feeling. That’s all it is. It’s a feeling. Of spirit. Of gratitude. Of appreciation. Of kindness. I don’t let go of those. I let go of the other garbage we’ve disguised as Christmas.

What about a Christmas tree?

I like a Christmas tree. They’re soft and beautiful and decorative. They feel good. So we went out and got one. But I didn’t decorate it. The kids did. In a messy, discoordinated, uneven kind of way. They loved doing it. They love seeing what they’ve made. I don’t care about the ornaments. I like the pine and the lights. I liked folding ribbon, contorting it into a bow to place near the star at the top. I let go of the “shouldas” and just did whatever I felt like doing.

And somehow, the stress is slipping away….

What is bringing you peace this Christmas? For me, it’s letting go of the image of Christmas and diving into the good feelings. Only the feelings.

What has brought you peace this week? Share the peace!