Here we go! The holiday season is kicking into high gear, and usually what that means is that people are cooking, cleaning, hosting, shopping, and stressing. It’s a time of year when we give thanks and join family and friends around the table, and then after stuffing our faces beyond belief, we stumble over to the living room and fall into food comas around the television. It’s a time that should be full of happiness and laughter and love, but all too often it turns into stressing and overspending, and the true meaning of the holiday season falls apart somewhere between that last bite of turkey and the opening of the Christmas gifts.
The idea that many big box stores have now decided to open on Thanksgiving evening is a sad state for our society. Since when did it become more important to wait outside a shopping center with hundreds of strangers and prepare to make a mad dash to the television section, rather than to enjoy the company of family and friends? It’s time that we get our priorities straight, and remind ourselves that there’s more to life and more to the holiday season than food, gifts, and trees. I remember seeing bumper stickers when I was younger that said, “He with the most toys Wins,” and somehow, somewhere along the way, this has become the mentality of many people throughout our society. And now with Christmas right around the corner, it seems like the gift-giving process has somehow turned into an opportunity to buy gifts for one’s self, or purchase items way beyond our means. Why has this happened? Have we become so brainwashed by the fancy advertisements, and the brands telling us that it’s the fancy jewelry and the expensive gifts that will make our loved ones love us even more? Have we lost complete sight of reality?
It’s time to simplify our lives. More gold and more silver will not make someone miraculously care for you more than they did before; but your gratefulness, sincerity and lust for life most definitely will. You have the ability to control your situation, so when stress starts kicking in, it’s not because of what’s happening around you, it’s about what’s happening within you. Take a step back, take a deep breath and remind yourself that this is a joyous time, and you have the ability to control you own attitude. Take a break from the stress and the negativity. Me personally, I’ll be turning on my favorite holiday movies like “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” and “Christmas Vacation.” I will find a way to laugh, not fight, and to share, not stress. After all, ‘Tis the Season!’
How will you choose to go through this holiday season?
