To be honest with you, the holiday season hasn’t really been the kindest to me in a while. It seems that nearly every year since I began high school, something happens to my health around Christmas. In some weird way, I’ve come to expect it, and dampen my own excitement surrounding the season in the process. It became difficult to maintain child-like joy surrounding the holidays when circumstance was forcing me to grow up, and now I simply can’t seem to find it.
My feelings surrounding the holiday season have shifted in the past five years. More than anything, I now love to plan and give gifts and experience a genuine connection with the people that matter most to me. Food has very little relevance in my holiday experience, and receiving gifts doesn’t matter much to me. Christmas has become less of a holiday to me and more of a seasonal state of mind. It is a time to intentionally practice compassion and selflessness; a time to give to those who matter most to me. Christmas is somewhat of a platonic Valentine’s day in my world.
I may be a little bit of a Scrooge sometimes, insisting that disaster could strike me at any moment at this time of year. Focusing on making others happy has proven to be the best possible cure for this, as seeing others smile because of me is the greatest gift of all. Joy is, after all, an experience intended for sharing.
Sabina Catherine 