61 DAYS OF HOLIDAY SANITY

[Guest guest]

61 DAYS OF HOLIDAY SANITY

By Martha Beck

Are you looking forward to the season ahead? With shivers of anticipation?

Or just shivers? Martha Beck can save you untold aggravation, angst, time and

money by persuading you not to do the things you don't want to do. Try it—it

just might make your holidays feel like holidays.

List your holiday traditions. Take a few minutes to write down every holiday

custom you feel you should follow. Start with family patterns, but don't end

there. Offices and friendships have their own traditions.

Choose to enthuse. Looking over your list, visualize each activity. Notice

how your body reacts. Do you tense or relax, feel like smiling, snarling or

weeping? What creates a genuine sense of enthusiasm? True enthusiasm makes us

feel divine, whether we take that as a religious reality or simply a wonderful

emotion. The holy days are the best times to focus on real enthusiasm, the

inner source that lightens and sanctifies our lives all year.

Apply the Three Bs. Once you've figured out which traditions you love,

eliminate the ones you don't. I suggest the Three Bs: Bag it, barter it or

better

it. Bagging is simple: If you don't love to do it, and you don't have to do

it, don't do it. To barter a task, find someone who loves doing what you hate,

and who dislikes something you like; then swap services. Traditions that

can't be bagged or bartered can usually be bettered. If you're tired of

shopping

but really want to choose gifts yourself, use catalogs or the Internet.

Manage that uneasy feeling. As you read over the preceding paragraphs, you

may have felt resistance. This is what I call social dissonance, the

conditioned reaction to breaking a group rule. It's the primary force that

keeps us

obeying the demands of others. Tolerating this dissonance without reacting is

the key to maintaining control of your life during the holidays and beyond.

Be yourself, don't explain yourself. You don't have to prove that your

preferences are right, theirs wrong. Differences are inevitable and

acceptable—

attempting to persuade someone to value the same things you do just perpetuates

conflict. Simply hold your ground. Kindly tell everyone that you're observing

a set of customs that work for you.

Wait 'em out. Every group has its own form of punishment. It may be that you

are one of the unlucky minority of humans whose social groups are so rigid

they won't tolerate your decisions, but this can be its own gift. You'll be

free to create and follow traditions that take you to the places where you'll

find your tribe. Far more likely, though, using the season to practice living

authentically will transform your holidays without causing too much ruckus in

your world.

Yes, you may ruffle more than turkey feathers. Your loved ones may fuss and

fume, but guess what? They'll get over it. They'll probably even like it,

once they see the payoff: the joyful version of you.

NOVA Counselling & Healing Services

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 01/12/2006 10:48:24 GMT Standard Time,

artisticgroomer@... writes:

Truer words were never spoken!

You know Val, I thought of you when I was reading this because I am aware it

is very much part of your philosophy and a very good and healthy one it is

too.

Mo

NOVA Counselling & Healing Services

[Guest guest]

>>Yes, you may ruffle more than turkey feathers. Your loved ones may fuss and

fume, but guess what? They'll get over it. They'll probably even like it,

once they see the payoff: the joyful version of you. <<

Truer words were never spoken!

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

My Ebay Jewelry Store (Closing after Xmas!!!)

http://stores.ebay.com/valeriescrystalcreations

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/