MAKING THE HOLIDAYS COUNT!

The impending holidays can be a catalyst for emotions that have not been resolved to bubble to the surface.  Instead of reacting and letting these feelings bring you down, you can choose to view this experience as an opportunity to heal anything from the past that is unresolved.  Perhaps you are still holding anger towards your mother or resentment towards your father because of long ago events that were never healed.  Perhaps, the nostalgia of the holidays brings up areas of contrast where you are comparing your current situation to those of the past. Either way, it is important for you to recognize that when these emotions are present to not stuff them back down again.  By acknowledging and honoring how you feel, it gives you a chance to begin the healing process.  Maybe just having awareness of the origin of these feelings is all it takes to move through.  Maybe you need to have a conversation with a loved one to clear the air.  Maybe you just need to forgive yourself and all others involved.  Forgiveness is not forgiving the act of what you perceive someone did to you, but forgiving the person.  Forgiveness will set you free because it’s not about letting the other person “off the hook” as much as it is about doing it for yourself to get well and move forward.

You can chose to be present with the feelings that surface around this time of the year and for once decide to take action, or you can stay on that merry-go-round that perpetuates the same behavior year after year.  During the holidays, we tend to have a heightened sense about ourselves and how we relate to others and this presents an opportunity to heal, initiate change and re-write the rules.   Let go of old hurts, forgive yourself and others and process your feelings so you can find yourself in a place of neutrality and love.