Wholeness Healing Center

Holiday Let Down

What is it about the holidays that sends us into a downward spiral after they are over? Is it the gloomy wintry weather, the return to the routine, or the saying goodbye to our families as we part again to go our separate ways? Whatever it is, perhaps this is the year to change that way of thinking and prepare to greet the new year with a new attitude. Or at least a slant on the old attitude.

Yes, we must say goodbye to our families and return back to our jobs and our mundane way of life. But that is as life is: we appreciate those we love so much more when we can step back from them and realize how important they are and how much impact they have had on our lives. And maybe we can re-dedicate ourselves this year to remaining in closer contact with those we love. More calls, more e-mails, more letters and cards to help re-establish the fact that when all else is gone, our family remains. Saying goodbye this year could be the start of a greater commitment to work harder at staying in contact, in connecting on a deeper level with those we share the past.

And the weather? Of course we are not going to change that, and really, who wants to? I know, we grumble about the temperature, the snow, the wind, but seriously, we choose to live in a climate where the weather changes often, where we are periodically surprised from morning to night, and where we get to witness the power of nature in several ways. So let’s appreciate the blanket of white that covers all the brown, the messes if you will, and allows us to venture out into “virgin” territory, into pristine whiteness and make our own tracks. The wind can allow us to risk our own attempts to break out into a new adventure or enterprise, and the cold can remind us that when we do finally return home, we find the solace and warmth of the hearth (heart).

Oh bah humbug on the routine. Well, it is often the routine that reassures us of our safety and stability, the structure to which we return to find our center and balance. Many of us return to our routine willingly, as a child returns to rules and structure, as we find ourselves homesick when we are not in our routine. Our work and our routine can define us, can help to mold us, can be the expression of what we hold precious. So while the word “routine” is so boring-sounding, the actual return is the part that brings us back full circle into our grounding and allows us to be so much more of who we really are.

So, as we take the final strands of garland down, put away the last ornaments, and prepare to tackle a new year, let’s do it with a forward-looking face, one of anticipation and expectation, one of excitement and desire, a desire to really appreciate what we have and what we can have in the future. □

Tags: holiday aftermath and routine, holiday let down, turning towards hope for the new year