Ah, the holidays. The hustle. The bustle. Visiting family. Having fun. Oh, and the laughter. We take weeks, sometimes months to prepare, and it's over, in a flash, among hurricanes of wrapping paper and bows.
When it's over, the holidays can leave in it's wake a sense of loss.
Our lives, in the everyday can be mundane and repetitive, at best. So the holidays can bring on a joy we only experience one time a year.
Oh, we try not to complain the rest of the year, because after all, we are grateful and are taught to be thankful and content.
And yet...
When the parties, gift giving, get togethers, and celebrations are over. When the holidays have passed, it can leave us feeling empty... sad perhaps and the Post Christmas Blues set in.
When it's over, the holidays can leave in it's wake a sense of loss.
Our lives, in the everyday can be mundane and repetitive, at best. So the holidays can bring on a joy we only experience one time a year.
Oh, we try not to complain the rest of the year, because after all, we are grateful and are taught to be thankful and content.
And yet...
When the parties, gift giving, get togethers, and celebrations are over. When the holidays have passed, it can leave us feeling empty... sad perhaps and the Post Christmas Blues set in.
Why? Why, do the Post Christmas Blues Happen
I started wondering... why?
Why do we get sad? Depressed, if you will, after the hustle and bustle have ended. After all, we spend weeks talking about how busy we are and about all we've still left to do. We talk about needing to slow down and not being able to wait for it all to be over so we can rest.
Why do we get sad? Depressed, if you will, after the hustle and bustle have ended. After all, we spend weeks talking about how busy we are and about all we've still left to do. We talk about needing to slow down and not being able to wait for it all to be over so we can rest.
I know for me, I feel appreciated during the holidays. I love to entertain! I love to cook! I love to hear all of those Ooh's and Ahh's as people experience things I have done. I enjoy hearing they are having a great time or the food was beyond delish! Knowing those words, sighs, and luxurious feelings of having my pot over floweth with appreciation are coming to an end as soon as that last ornament is in the box. That's why
Being 'busy' keeps my mind off things less than positive going on in my life. I can throw myself into the hustle and bustle of the holidays and focus on the holly jolly all while sweeping the negative things going on with me under the rug and not think about them. I'm too busy to think of all of those things. Knowing I'm going to be less busy as the season slows down which means more thinking time. That's why
I'm a giver by design, serving others is part of my nature. I love entertaining! I love making gifts, wrapping gifts, finding that just right gift. I love cooking! I love baking! I'm always giving of my time, giving of my money, and giving of myself. This fills a deep rooted basic need for me. After the holidays, I have to wait for a 'special' occasion. That's why
Being 'busy' keeps my mind off things less than positive going on in my life. I can throw myself into the hustle and bustle of the holidays and focus on the holly jolly all while sweeping the negative things going on with me under the rug and not think about them. I'm too busy to think of all of those things. Knowing I'm going to be less busy as the season slows down which means more thinking time. That's why
I'm a giver by design, serving others is part of my nature. I love entertaining! I love making gifts, wrapping gifts, finding that just right gift. I love cooking! I love baking! I'm always giving of my time, giving of my money, and giving of myself. This fills a deep rooted basic need for me. After the holidays, I have to wait for a 'special' occasion. That's why
Getting Back in the Pink
Now I've got the why's and it's on to the solutions.
Oh Boy! Here comes another one of those simple but not easy solutions (I can feel it!)
Nipping those things in the bud (or is it butt) oh well, I digress, anyway, nipping those things that cause us to feel blue is probably the biggest key. Sounds simple, huh?
Doing it (actually pulling off not getting the blues) is the hard part of the simple solution.
Isn't that always the way? Something can seem so simple but be so difficult to actually pull off.
This year, I've decided I'm taking action. I'm gonna fight those blues with everything I've got. I'm going to:
*Feel those feelings* It's okay to be sad. Christmas is a beautiful time, with some very special memories that are created and recreated every year. From the decorations to spending time with those we hold so dear. It's okay to miss those things, but it's not okay if I get stuck there. Feel sad, acknowledge it, then move forward. There I grow
*Focus on asking for what I need* I don't know about your friends and family but mine aren't so hot at being clairvoyant! Mind-reading doesn't seem to run in my family or friends. ☺ So, it looks like it's up to me to let them know when I'm feeling under appreciated, or when I'm needing to have that particular pot filled up or my appreciation need met in some manner. There I grow
*Face those less than positives* I'm a pro at finding a million and one plus things to do instead of facing and dealing with things that are not right in my life. Most of them, if I'm honest, are things I need to work on within myself. Oh, I'd like to believe that I'm practically perfect in every way, but sadly, there's only one Mary Poppins (psst...she's not me). There I grow
*Find ways to give* I'm not sure why, but I get stuck in thinking I can only give when there's something to celebrate. Wrong! I need to be plugging myself in and finding ways to give and serve on a daily basis. I don't have to wait for a birthday or an anniversary. I can make up reasons to give. I can celebrate for any reason or for no reason at all! I can find ways to serve that may be ordinary but which can create extraordinary results. There I grow
Oh Boy! Here comes another one of those simple but not easy solutions (I can feel it!)
Nipping those things in the bud (or is it butt) oh well, I digress, anyway, nipping those things that cause us to feel blue is probably the biggest key. Sounds simple, huh?
Doing it (actually pulling off not getting the blues) is the hard part of the simple solution.
Isn't that always the way? Something can seem so simple but be so difficult to actually pull off.
This year, I've decided I'm taking action. I'm gonna fight those blues with everything I've got. I'm going to:
*Feel those feelings* It's okay to be sad. Christmas is a beautiful time, with some very special memories that are created and recreated every year. From the decorations to spending time with those we hold so dear. It's okay to miss those things, but it's not okay if I get stuck there. Feel sad, acknowledge it, then move forward. There I grow
*Focus on asking for what I need* I don't know about your friends and family but mine aren't so hot at being clairvoyant! Mind-reading doesn't seem to run in my family or friends. ☺ So, it looks like it's up to me to let them know when I'm feeling under appreciated, or when I'm needing to have that particular pot filled up or my appreciation need met in some manner. There I grow
*Face those less than positives* I'm a pro at finding a million and one plus things to do instead of facing and dealing with things that are not right in my life. Most of them, if I'm honest, are things I need to work on within myself. Oh, I'd like to believe that I'm practically perfect in every way, but sadly, there's only one Mary Poppins (psst...she's not me). There I grow
*Find ways to give* I'm not sure why, but I get stuck in thinking I can only give when there's something to celebrate. Wrong! I need to be plugging myself in and finding ways to give and serve on a daily basis. I don't have to wait for a birthday or an anniversary. I can make up reasons to give. I can celebrate for any reason or for no reason at all! I can find ways to serve that may be ordinary but which can create extraordinary results. There I grow
Would you look at that...the four F's of losing the Post Christmas Blues
Face
Feel
Find
Focus
They look simple enough, they sound simple enough.... they're harder to put into action, but every stretch I make, every step I take is just one more way God puts His plan into action in my life and I get to step closer to fulfilling whom He created me to be
So,
Here I Grow again!
Face
Feel
Find
Focus
They look simple enough, they sound simple enough.... they're harder to put into action, but every stretch I make, every step I take is just one more way God puts His plan into action in my life and I get to step closer to fulfilling whom He created me to be
So,
Here I Grow again!