With the holiday season in full swing, what does it mean to you to be in a ???festive??? state of mind? And if you aren???t currently in that state, how do you get there?
You may have noticed this year particularly that Christmas music began to play on the radio right after Halloween, if not earlier. Maybe you think that???s a bit much, but if a certain song hits your eardrums at just the right time, just when you need it, it could turn your whole attitude around. Playing holiday music at home can do wonders to get you and yours into the spirit of the season. Christmas caroling with a group is a great way to lift the spirits of others, which tends to bounce back onto you. Same thing goes if you???re on the other side of the door, if carolers come to your home. Open the door. Let ???em sing! It???s good for you and for them. Music is a great healer. There may be no better way to ingest the medicine of music than to attend a holiday choir concert, which are often free. The sonic quality of the many voices all in harmony and the vibration it brings is enough to lift anyone???s spirits without fully understanding how it is happening.
If none of those options are for you, then perhaps decorating for the holiday you celebrate will do. If home is where the heart is, then surrounding yourself with cheerful visual reminders of the season should fill your waking hours with positivity. Of course, many of us spend a good chunk of said waking hours at our job. If you have your own office, you should have free rein to decorate it to your heart???s content. Within reason. If you don???t, then how about initiating a group effort to decorate your place of business for the holidays? The holiday cheer will spread to those who come through your doors, taking it out into the world with them where surely it will multiply.
Or making and decorating cookies! You may not eat cookies but there is always going to be someone around who will. And what better way to say ???I love you??? to someone than making them cookies?
If you???ve got kids, maybe you???ve already taken them to see Santa Claus. If you haven???t, remember that this is not just a chance for Santa to tell you what your kid wants from Him for Christmas, but a chance to stand back and observe one of the real joyful and magical moments in your kid???s life. Meeting Santa?! Come on! What could beat that? Take in that moment with your kids.
The wisest of the wise, down the ages, have consistently reported that giving is much more nurturing to us on the deepest level, than is receiving. This applies to giving to our family and friends, and perhaps more so to those beyond our immediate scope ??? such as charitable giving. Is there a particular cause, organization, or establishment that just warms your heart when you think about what they do in the community or the world at large? Taking the time – and some of your well-earned money – to further such causes can help remind you that you are part of something of great value.
Speaking of family and friends, putting together a list of all of those who mean the most to you, and thinking about why that is, can be a happy reminder of the amount of love and friendship that you have in your life. Sitting down and writing something personalized and unique in a holiday card to each of them helps to reciprocate that feeling.
If not, then certainly family holiday gatherings will. Sure, we don???t all have idyllic family dynamics (does anyone?) but there is never a better time than the holidays to enjoy each other???s company, get caught up with each other???s goings and doings, and truly and sincerely wish each other nothing but goodwill, peace and prosperity???.
Or just stay home and watch ???Die Hard.???
Okay even if you do not consider ???Die Hard??? a Christmas movie, there are many others to choose from. I guess. And you know what? Even if you are the type who rolls your eyes at the beginning of a Hallmark Christmas movie, by the end credits, you might have experienced at least a smidge of an attitude adjustment, for the merrier.
Have a safe and happy holiday season, one and all! Enjoy it for all it is, and is meant to be. And of course, we wish you the best of everything in the new year!
– Horihan Insurance