By Coralie Darsey-Malloy
The meaning of things lies
not in the things themselves...
but in our attitutude towards them.
--Antoine De Saint-Expuery
While there are many out there who remember the spiritual significance of Christmas and approach it with moderation, balance and modesty there are some who are drawn in to media hype and marketing ploys designed to create a ‘seasonal high.’ Over extensions of time, energy and money combined with lack of sleep, disruption of normal routines, and too much food in strange combinations frequently lead to an emotional hangover at the beginning of each New Year. To avoid the ‘January Blahs’ in 2007 here a few suggestions:
1. Maintain balance and moderation in all things. Nothing throws the system off like sleep deprivation or over-loading the body with too much food. After a big turkey dinner most can attest to the ‘sleepy’ feelings that come from protein overload and the calming effects of the amino acid tryptophan present in turkey. Being mindful of alcohol and food consumption can also prevent the overloaded feeling that builds up throughout the season and leads to emotional lows after all the celebrating is done.
2. Make time for fitness and fresh air and sunshine. Many people have a difficult time fitting daily exercise in under normal conditions. During hectic times like Christmas exercise is the last thing that comes to mind. My message is a different one. January is coming and the longer you stay away from your various routines, the harder it will be to get back to where you were. Why not start a new tradition with family and friends that includes some physical movement? It is a guaranteed way to avoid feeling stressed.
3. If you want to reduce the chances of a January low, try not to get hooked on ‘artificial highs.’ Christmas is celebrated by more than 3.5 billion people around the world and can be a great event if approached with realistic expectations, forethought and an ability to plan ahead. Meaningful gifts do not have to over-extend the budget and even though it sounds trite … it is the thought and effort that goes into gifts that is the important thing. Something baked or crafted with love and affection and exchanged with nice card and/or heartfelt expressions of affection often mean far more to the recipient than an extravagant gift based on material value alone. These types of gifts usually do not break the budget or lead to financial regret when credit card bills start to roll in after the artificial high and media hype of the holidays are over.
4. Be prepared for the re-surfacing of buried emotions. Family events often trigger buried emotions and can add to emotional lows. The challenge for each of us is to be courageous and committed to reaching a point where we are able to accept people for who they are … whether we agree with them or not. If a family member’s behavior is particularly upsetting, set boundaries. In the event they are not respected or the situation does not warrant open confrontation do your best to separate yourself or ignore them. Ignoring poor behavior is an effective way of disempowering it.
Participate. Make it your goal to experience the magic of giving because it truly is more blessed to give than receive. Giving can take many forms other than just the material. Stop and think about the actual meaning of Christmas and check to see whether your thoughts and actions are in line with that. The giving could include visiting and offering support to a less fortunate family, volunteering at a food bank or soup kitchen, canvassing for a favorite charity or cause or visiting a retirement home or hospital. Any of these ‘gifts’ could really make someone else’s day.
Give yourself the gift of ‘self-health.’ The gift of self-health begins with your own actions. Make a plan to eat less, (especially junk food, sugar, coffee and alcohol.) Keep water intake high (two to three liters per day) get adequate amounts of sleep, fresh air, sunshine and exercise. Then to top it off rent some funny movies and laugh, laugh … then laugh some more. Laughter releases endorphins that create a natural high and exercises the tummy muscles in ways that have been referred to as an ‘internal jog.’ If relationships need mending, forgiveness is a good place to start. Couple all that with an ‘attitude of gratitude’ for all that you have. What greater gift can you receive than to function at a high level and to flourish physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually? There is no monetary amount that will ever replace good health and a sense of well-being.
Implementing all or part of the above suggestions will help maintain balance and prevent emotions from getting too high…or low. However, when all is said and done the best way to create an emotional high that will keep on as long as we practice it is to focus more on what we can do for others and less on what is not working in our own lives. The benefits will be yours to enjoy.
The meaning of things lies
not in the things themselves...
but in our attitutude towards them.
--Antoine De Saint-Expuery
While there are many out there who remember the spiritual significance of Christmas and approach it with moderation, balance and modesty there are some who are drawn in to media hype and marketing ploys designed to create a ‘seasonal high.’ Over extensions of time, energy and money combined with lack of sleep, disruption of normal routines, and too much food in strange combinations frequently lead to an emotional hangover at the beginning of each New Year. To avoid the ‘January Blahs’ in 2007 here a few suggestions:
1. Maintain balance and moderation in all things. Nothing throws the system off like sleep deprivation or over-loading the body with too much food. After a big turkey dinner most can attest to the ‘sleepy’ feelings that come from protein overload and the calming effects of the amino acid tryptophan present in turkey. Being mindful of alcohol and food consumption can also prevent the overloaded feeling that builds up throughout the season and leads to emotional lows after all the celebrating is done.
2. Make time for fitness and fresh air and sunshine. Many people have a difficult time fitting daily exercise in under normal conditions. During hectic times like Christmas exercise is the last thing that comes to mind. My message is a different one. January is coming and the longer you stay away from your various routines, the harder it will be to get back to where you were. Why not start a new tradition with family and friends that includes some physical movement? It is a guaranteed way to avoid feeling stressed.
3. If you want to reduce the chances of a January low, try not to get hooked on ‘artificial highs.’ Christmas is celebrated by more than 3.5 billion people around the world and can be a great event if approached with realistic expectations, forethought and an ability to plan ahead. Meaningful gifts do not have to over-extend the budget and even though it sounds trite … it is the thought and effort that goes into gifts that is the important thing. Something baked or crafted with love and affection and exchanged with nice card and/or heartfelt expressions of affection often mean far more to the recipient than an extravagant gift based on material value alone. These types of gifts usually do not break the budget or lead to financial regret when credit card bills start to roll in after the artificial high and media hype of the holidays are over.
4. Be prepared for the re-surfacing of buried emotions. Family events often trigger buried emotions and can add to emotional lows. The challenge for each of us is to be courageous and committed to reaching a point where we are able to accept people for who they are … whether we agree with them or not. If a family member’s behavior is particularly upsetting, set boundaries. In the event they are not respected or the situation does not warrant open confrontation do your best to separate yourself or ignore them. Ignoring poor behavior is an effective way of disempowering it.
Participate. Make it your goal to experience the magic of giving because it truly is more blessed to give than receive. Giving can take many forms other than just the material. Stop and think about the actual meaning of Christmas and check to see whether your thoughts and actions are in line with that. The giving could include visiting and offering support to a less fortunate family, volunteering at a food bank or soup kitchen, canvassing for a favorite charity or cause or visiting a retirement home or hospital. Any of these ‘gifts’ could really make someone else’s day.
Give yourself the gift of ‘self-health.’ The gift of self-health begins with your own actions. Make a plan to eat less, (especially junk food, sugar, coffee and alcohol.) Keep water intake high (two to three liters per day) get adequate amounts of sleep, fresh air, sunshine and exercise. Then to top it off rent some funny movies and laugh, laugh … then laugh some more. Laughter releases endorphins that create a natural high and exercises the tummy muscles in ways that have been referred to as an ‘internal jog.’ If relationships need mending, forgiveness is a good place to start. Couple all that with an ‘attitude of gratitude’ for all that you have. What greater gift can you receive than to function at a high level and to flourish physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually? There is no monetary amount that will ever replace good health and a sense of well-being.
Implementing all or part of the above suggestions will help maintain balance and prevent emotions from getting too high…or low. However, when all is said and done the best way to create an emotional high that will keep on as long as we practice it is to focus more on what we can do for others and less on what is not working in our own lives. The benefits will be yours to enjoy.
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