The A’s to Z’s of Just Looking at Ourselves
Balance
The holidays are here! How do you feel? Blissful? Joyful? Are you like many of us who won’t admit a growing sense of dread as the holidays approach? For one thing, holiday’s often mean spending time with family that we may have conflicts with, spending money on gifts and spending time balancing all these extra “to-do’s” on top of our already busy lives. We’ve just recovered from Thanksgiving when we’re bombarded from everywhere we turn with expectations of what we should be doing and feeling for Christmas, Hanukah or whatever celebration our spiritual beliefs inspire us to do. We often eat, drink and spend too much. Are you someone who has to send out hundred’s of cards with that newsy family letter or picture? The holidays often trigger old memories and feelings from previous holidays and grief for those who were with us last year, but are now gone.
I’m someone who sits back in awe of people who seem to balance all of these things naturally without a hitch. We were invited to our friends’ early Christmas celebration this week since they’ll be out of town. With help from Fausto’s, after a busy work day, my friend catered a beautiful traditional meal and decoration of her nine foot, Marc-House tree for ten people. She had the idea the day before. As I placed each matching ornament on their tree, I moaned silently that it’s time to pull my artificial pre-lighted tree out of the box, slip those two pieces together and set the darn thing up. Martha Stewart, I’m not and will never be. We talked about “acceptance” in the last column and how accepting ourselves just as we are is the first step to change and peace of mind. I’ve come to accept that my talents don’t lie in the culinary or interior design categories and that’s okay.
This week we’re looking at “balance” in the A’s-Z’s of “just looking at ourselves.” Balance is necessary this time of the year as we juggle all these plates in the air without dropping any. Balance means taking time for you. Think of what you love to do, what relaxes and rejuvenates your spirit and find time for that – not just now in the chaos of the season, but always. If you’re a visual person, you might want to draw your life out as a pie on a piece of paper. In each triangle fill in how you spend your time in categories like family, work, partner, kids, sports, play, art, TV, etc. Take a look and see if your life is balanced, or do you need to make some adjustments so you can feel less stressed and more peaceful. And always remember, it’s not what you do, but your perception of it. “As we think, so shall we be. We become what we think about all day long.” There are only two ways to change if you’re not happy. One- leave, move, stop what you’re doing; and two- change your view – your perception and attitude toward what you’re doing or who you’re doing it with.
We can always find balance in gratitude. It’s impossible to be grateful and resentful at the same time. So, smell the flowers, take a deep breath often, and stay safe. See through the eyes of a child so that everyone you encounter is your teacher and every event a lesson or a blessing.
