Standing in Your Power this Holiday Season
It’s that time of year again, Beloveds, but with some notable exceptions (I’m lookin’ at you, COVID). The holidays are upon us, and with them come family gatherings (no, Grandma, I’m not dating anyone yet), seasonal changes (seasonal depression is a real thing, y’all), and a cornucopia of challenges that always seem to be present in this season. I’ve always wondered why we have to have US presidential elections two weeks before Thanksgiving, when everyone is supposed to be cheery and full of familial love--why couldn’t we have chosen to have the most tense political climate changes happen in May or something? But I digress.
Here’s the real kicker: this year, everyone is in trauma collectively at the same time. Make no mistake, a global pandemic and all of its consequences are a trauma to the collective.
What that means for you, Beloveds, is that you may find yourself feeling much more reactive, elevated, lonely, and disconnected than in previous holidays. And if you are Zooming or meeting in person with your family and friends, you may find that they are feeling this way too. For highly sensitive people and empaths, this will be an incredibly exhausting time, but even those who aren’t highly sensitive may find themselves struggling in the next few weeks.
So how do we prepare ourselves for what may be the most difficult part of pandemic life yet?
One word: COMPASSION.
Try to remember that while you may be struggling this season, your loved ones--or even perfect strangers--may be struggling as well. Be gentle with yourself and others. Give yourself a little leeway to cry when you need to, take breaks when you need to, nap when you need to, yell when you need to. And let others do the same. Think of this holiday season as a rain-out in a baseball game: it doesn’t count due to a downpour of germs, and we’ll try again next year. Compassion isn’t weakness, it’s POWER. So stand in your power, and acknowledge that you’re doing the best you can in this moment with what you have.
May you be happy, well, and peaceful this holiday season. And barring all that, may you be compassionate with yourself.
And if you need a little compassion from an outsider, you know what to do: Reach out. I got you.
