Pause.
The last email I sent out was all about not sacrificing yourself in the name of familial festive expectation. It’s a thing. How many of us get to Christmas Day, exhausted, overwhelmed, resentful and over the whole fucking thing? And, when we feel like that, how much joy are we abel to find in a season that is supposedly all about joy?
From my previous experience - not a whole lot.
So this letter is all about consciously pausing mid mad-dash and reminding yourself to see the joy. And I’m not talking about seismic, gargantuan joy - the kind that rom coms are made of. I’m talking the small, tiny moments. The kid that snuggles on your lap at the dinner table because their full and tired and sleepy. The cousins all playing together. The sound of laughs, giggles, guffaws. The tasty turkey (if Turkey is ever actually tasty…am I the only one that doesn’t believe the hype about that oversized, gobble-chinned bird?). The note in a card that makes you smile. A good film on the TV. Big sock and a tasty glass of something. A Terry’s chocolate orange that you don’t have to share.
Whatever it is, it’s not enough to just remember it after the fact. Pause mid-joy and really recognise the moment. Savour it. Turn of the stress and the constant ticker tape of to-dos, for just a minute, half a minute, and stand face to face with the joyful moment.
It’s all about remembering that emotions like stress, anxiety and overwhelm are massive, domineering, bullying emotions. They force all the other, more positive, emotions out of the way and take up all the space so that we believe that’s all there is. But that’s never all there is. Even in the worst times, there are moments of joy. You might just have to work a little hard to focus on them.
So, whatever this week brings, whatever curve-ball Covid throws at us this season, there will still be moments of joy. They may be fleeting and you may have to look hard for them, but starting the process of consciously seeking them is a great place to be. As we start the rapid descent in to the season of decadence, put the brakes on every now and again and allow yourself to enjoy it too.