Gifts to the Spirit in the Season
SIGNATURE iSome of the best holiday gifts are wrapped up in our experiences during the season. They are traditions that remind us of who we are and what matters most in our lives.
Time out for Togetherness. We make time to celebrate with friends and co-workers and re-connect with old friends and acquaintances at holiday parties. We travel great distances to be with family. What a gift to the spirit to rediscover that our relationships define and nurture us and they will do so throughout the year if we just find ways to take these time outs throughout the year.
Year-end Deadlines. Every year we rush to tie up loose ends and wrap up projects before the holidays and the advent of the New Year. This compulsive behavior does add a large dose of stress into the season but it also yields a sense of accomplishment and closure in our work. We can look back over a year of learning, practicing our art, and giving our best to whatever we have chosen to do.
Tests of Willpower. The holiday season is a sugar-coated minefield for our health. It is a test of our willpower to walk through the holiday parties, gift cookies and candies, and special meals without gaining weight. It is an even greater challenge to navigate all the expectations of the season and keep our perspective and mental health in good shape. The survival strategies we deploy to stay on course remind us that it does take great resolve to keep ourselves in healthy balance and wellbeing.
Appeals for Generosity. Every day our mailboxes are crammed with advertisements and charitable appeals. These are challenges to our sense of stewardship. Do the gifts we choose express our love and awareness of others or simply demonstrate our insecurity about our relationship with others and our status in the world? When we sort through the charitable appeals to decide who to support, we too can have a philanthropist’s opportunity to make a difference in the world. We can choose to ease or end poverty for people nearby or in other countries. We can make a down payment on a cleaner environment. We can choose to invest in the peace and harmony we seek and celebrate in this season.
Resolutions for Renewal. There’s a forgiveness and grace in turning the calendar page to the New Year. We get to set goals and make plans with a sense of possibility and hope. This will be the year we take charge of our behaviors and attitudes and live up to our human potential.
Signature i wishes you these and many more gifts to the spirit in this holiday season.
Reader Comments (3)
Happy Holidays Marsha
The holidays do create challenges to completing work, balancing life with family and friends and contributing to the well-being of our communities. However, it is a wonderful time of the year to remember all the wonderful accomplishiments of 2010.
Thank you for your guidance and wisdom as we move forward with the ADA Summit in March. Your assistance has been extremely rewarding. And, thank you for your friendship in this effort. It has been a honor to work with you during these months.
Looking forward to great success in spring. Happy Holidays! Enjoy your time with friends and family
Harold Holler, American Dietetic Association
Thank you for the reflections and the understanding that we can use time as an opportunity to connect to the spiritual nature we inherit from those who gave us love, taught us faith and shared their joy of life. These are the positive emiotions that enable awe as we peer into the timeless mystery of life. Happy holidays in the deepest sense of the word, recognizing that the pursuit of happiness is the quest for a virtuous life with the realization of wisdom near its end.
Thanks for this beautiful reflection Marsha. It was the perfect thing to start with my first day back in the office after the holidays - a great reminder of the gifts of the season just past and excellent food for thought for the New Year that stretches out before us.
I wish you joy, peace, and prosperity in 2011.
Best regards ~ Jennifer