Christmas lights 🎄
FREE Gift | Loving self & others | Sapiens
Last week, we talked about existential laws, this week, Christmas.
Christmas…
The twinkly lights, the tinsel, the carols, and the gift wrap. We rejoice in decorating the tree, singing the classics, and watching our favorite holiday movies. This week, I bring you several aspects of Christmas. Let’s start here with Christmas as a time to serve others, celebrate ourselves, and spend time with those we love.
Serve others…
As we get in the Christmas spirit we might get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season that we forget to “pay it forward.” We overlook opportunities to give back to those around us. So, it is a great moment to speak some love and share it around by doing something for the community. Not that it should only be this time of the year, but why not help those that need a meal or a smile?
Celebrate ourselves…
This celebration can also be about ourselves. We’re often so focused on self-criticism, and we do so without even noticing because it’s become such a natural thing to do. It’s easy to forget that we are a gift to the world, one only we can unwrap.
As you enter this festive season, commit to celebrating yourself a little more and putting the inner critic to sleep. Celebrating ourselves is not vanity; it’s a pure form of self-appreciation. It’s something we can do privately, in the safe space inside of us.
It doesn’t matter how we do it, but it’s essential to learn to count the blessings of who we are and what we bring to the table of life. What we build our self-esteem around matters. We have to create moments to show ourselves respect, honor, and celebrate ourselves.
Give yourself that standing ovation. Speak kindly to yourself, light a candle, play a song, take a few breaths or a walk, and meditate on your accomplishments. What we need is the gift of our admiration and our attention.
Spend time with those we love…
As far as my memory goes, every Christmas holiday, we would be surrounded by family! This year, for most people, it will be different. (And actually, as I am writing those lines I still don’t know whether I will be able to be home for Christmas as I caught Covid…)
For many who live on different continents / in different countries from their loved ones, the Christmas holidays were a chance to make up for a lost time. To make right for all the big milestone events we missed. It was our moment to switch off, go on adventures, and be present with family.
I take things into perspective and think how lucky and privileged I still am — even though we are still in a pandemic. I think of the people whose loved ones have devastatingly been taken by the coronavirus, and I try to remind myself that my family and I are blessed to be alive. That one day, we will feel each other's warm and loving embrace — maybe not anytime soon, but one day.
Celebrating the people around the table, and those who are not, my sister can't be around as she is stuck in Hong Kong due to Covid, and my girlfriend cannot visit her family in Australia.
Don't assume those people know you appreciate them. Celebrate them! Give them a call, or send a text.
QUESTION…
What would you celebrate about yourself?
Who can you celebrate today?
Who made you feel valued this year?