Tis The Season

There is no question that this time of year brings MANY feelings out into the open.  Everyone tends to talk about Happy, Merry, Good Wishes, and yet……..

Whether you are baking a pie from a recipe your grandma handed down, or meeting your new boyfriend’s family for the first time.  Whether you are thinking about past relationships or when your parents lived together and had family dinners, this time of year is VERY stressful.

I have friends who have grandchildren that won’t be with them because it is an every other year holiday.  I have friends who lost their parents or siblings recently and are thinking about them.

We all reflect on times past.  We all think about times that seemed less complicated.  Ending things.  Starting over.  New traditions.  All of these things come into our thoughts and minds at this time of year.

With traffic at a standstill, malls over-crowded with busy, rude people, it is more than challenging to keep calm and truly enjoy the holidays.

So, my advice?  Remember the past fondly, while you plan for the future with hope and faith.  But, more importantly, enjoy the moments you are in, because there might come a time when they will be the good old days that you will miss and can’t get back.

Worry

We all do it!  Will we be picked last for a game on the playground?  Will we be asked to the birthday party?  Will we be liked? Will our kids get into the best kindergarten?  Will we get the job?  Find the right mate?  Afford a house?  And on and on it goes.

Basically we worry from the day we enter this world until the day we leave it.  And yet stress (worry) is harder on the body than pretty much anything else that can ‘get us’.

So, how do we get a handle on ‘worrying’ when it is as natural as breathing?  I suppose we can go through life with a ‘whatever happens’ attitude, and just blow off any and all the things that get thrown in our path.  It is what some people do.

We can also choose to allow our worries to affect our minds and bodies so much that we get more headaches and ulcers, therefore keeping us from enjoying our lives.  This is an option.

Or, we can learn to acknowledge our challenges, make a reasonable plan and then counter-balance them with the things that give our bodies and minds some carefree relaxing time.  No, it isn’t easy.

We are all different.  There are as many suggestions as there are problems.  There are as many answers as there are questions.

Think I will take some time this week and pay attention to my stressors.  Then I will take some time to find some perspective on what I can effect and make a plan to do the things that balance me and give me some peace.

You?

Ego

When it was suggested to me that it could be my ego that caused me to think I could handle all that life throws me, I wanted to protest.  THEN, I gave it some real thought.

What made me think that I could take on one more task?  What made me think I could handle one more problem?  What made me think I could keep all the balls in the air?  AND, never be stressed, never be short tempered, never let anyone down, and more importantly, do it all perfectly?

EGO!!!!  I never thought I had a big one.  I think perhaps I was wrong.  It’s not that I thought I was better than others.  No, I just thought I could handle things better than others.    

I found myself stressed to the limit, and, I was frustrated and running on empty.  Not in a small way, but a big one.  I became unreasonable and ranted and yelled at someone who didn’t deserve it.  Basically, I lost my cool.

We all get to the point of ‘having had enough’.  There isn’t anyone out there who isn’t dealing with either out of control children, an unreasonable boss, a loud neighbor, a messy spouse and/or friends and family that let us down.

Owning one’s behavior and accepting that being human means NOT being perfect is sometimes all we can do.  That and taking the time to stop, take a deep breath and find whatever method works best to release the stress in our lives before it builds to Biblical proportions.  

Make sense?