During this season, the Holiday season, we have many traditions that we follow from our childhood. Over the years, we probably forgot where some of these traditions stem from. Additionally, we add fiery gift-giving and pressure, not forgetting anyone.
This year is the second time I have used December as a silent and reflection month. It started by wanting to be off social media forever when I realized that this wasn't very realistic. It's been 13 days since I paused posting anything, with a few exceptions for the incredible panel discussions.
Throughout this time, I had many thoughts about to-dos, the holiday spirit, and how to use traditions in a new way. One of the driving forces I kept remembering was the quote by Lao Tzu:
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."
Almost counterproductive, though, every moment I felt that I needed to finish something or had a glimpse of why didn't I do something yet. I recalled this quote and reminded myself that everything would be accomplished no matter what.
My experience around the spirit of the holiday season, especially Christmas, was seeing my son's eyes light up when he spoke of Santa and how watching Christmas movies brought curiosity in him. What else to find out about Santa and how to know if he does exist. There is a beauty in getting the sense of believing in something magical and including it back into our lives is extraordinary. It makes me witness Christmas in a different light, in the eye of my son's instead of me thinking if only he knew. This caused me to use our stocking as the messenger between my son and Santa. Keeping the belief alive is not to diminish the truth in the future but to teach him that believing is a beautiful thing. We don't always need to know the answer to stay curious, engaged, and caring.
Additional to recreating a tradition into something fun and exciting also made me notice how gift-giving isn't about the amount of money we spend but how we think about giving and the experience that comes with it. In the past two years, we discovered how important our company matters and how much we cherish the people in our close circles. This is the time of the year we must pay attention to the people around us, mainly because getting to the end of the year gets colder and darker in large parts of our world. Feeling lonely is not uncommon, even being with people.
Let's reach our hands to people we meet throughout our days. Give them a sense of hope that we are not alone. We don't know what home they will encounter. Maybe they are by themselves. Maybe they lost an important person in their life, and the Holiday season might be tough. Maybe they aren't at good terms with their families. Without needing to know the answers. Let's reach our hands to each other, give a smile, and let each other know we care. Make this Holiday season a special time for everyone, and may you be merry. Happy Holidays.
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