What does it mean to live in the moment? What comes to mind? Sipping a hot beverage by a mountain lake just after sunrise? Relaxing in the sun by the beach letting everything else go? Rowing a canoe down some rapids through a canyon? Taking a walk in the cool of the day? Really sitting and listening to someone who needs you without any other distractions? Enjoying looking over that new baby, spending time memorizing their little face, fingers, and toes, taking in that powdery "baby smell"? Now let me ask you another question...
What does it mean to live in the moment during the holiday season?
Have you ever thought about how to do that during the hustle, bustle, and busyness of the holidays? Or is it more like there's never enough time to really stop and just BE in the moment? Are you rushing from work to shopping to your kid's play? Are you working at a hectic pace over a meal for 2 days knowing it'll be eaten and over in 15 minutes? How can you stop and live in EACH important moment during this holiday season? Here's a few ideas, and I challenge you to start some of them TODAY:
1. CHOOSE the most important moments you think you want to make happen. Will you choose to spend time with a particular relative or friend? Will you arrange a block of time for your family to enjoy one event together? By saying YES to that which is most important to you, you can feel free to say NO to the unimportant things without guilt or obligation. It's your time. You choose how to spend it.
2. MAKE any projects you've got planned, but make it during a specific time you've set aside for it. People think making gifts is fun, and it can be, but not if it's shoved rapidly between dozens of other things, rushed and done poorly. Schedule blocks of time in your schedule now so that as the holidays approach, you've already got the time-consuming, important, creative things done.
3. INVITE people to do things with you. Get them on your schedule now too. Plan time to see those people you know you won't see over the holidays. Maybe plan a girls/guys night out with your favorite coworkers or friends. Plan a lunch or dinner with a relative who won't be around or able to come to see you during the holiday special days/events.
4. LIST the moments you want to capture in pictures. Are there things that you never remember to capture year after year? Maybe kids decorating the tree? Picking a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch? The Thanksgiving meal on the table with everyone around BEFORE everyone starts eating? The gifts under the lit tree the night before Christmas? The special passed down recipes with a photo of the finished product? Think about these things and list them somewhere you'll remember to capture them this year.
5. TIME FOR YOU. This is especially important if you're an introvert. Plan some time to just be alone, or at home away from everything. Think of when you'll need a night off. Put it in your schedule so if people ask you to go to things you really don't want to attend, you can tell them you already have an appointment that night (with yourself). Take time to breathe. Time to maybe just sit home enjoying music, candles, a book, or a favorite movie with your favorite beverage. Don't feel guilty. Living simply means taking time to do less - and it's far more rewarding than you'd think.
Start today planning so that the holidays don't sneak up quickly and attack your world. Be at peace this holiday season.
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