ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: You Are the Best Holiday Gift!
Are YOU in the holiday spirit? Or are you feeling a bit down about something in your life? Do you feel some pressure to perform with a smile on your face when all you want to do is hibernate?
In the US, it’s a bit difficult to distance yourself from all the ‘holiday hoopla,’ with bells ringing on the streets and music playing everywhere. Malls are crowded with people, some of whom are spending money that they can’t afford. There are parties all around. Some folks wish they didn’t have to attend so many and others wish they had been invited to at least one. Some people dread spending time with their family while others wish they could be with family that is distant or gone.
Is what is happening in December authentic? Are you feeling invited to be your authentic self? Or does a part of this smack of inauthenticity for you?
Neither constant, upbeat smiles nor constant, depressed frowns represent authenticity at the deepest level. It’s good to be upbeat. It’s okay to smile a lot. It’s also okay to feel like not smiling. This isn’t saying that you ‘should’ feel or be any way other than how you feel.
However, what choices are you making today? If you feel very upbeat and happy and in your ‘holiday jollies,’ are you thinking of less fortunate folks who might need a helping hand? If you are depressed or feeling low, are you focusing all of your energies on what you don’t have or how poorly you feel instead of looking at your life and feeling gratitude? Who can YOU help?
Helping others, giving to others, and not just gifts that cost money but gifts of self, time, talents, attention – this outward focus is the authentic aspect of humanity that we sometimes forget is a part of us. We WANT to be useful and helpful, even when we need help from others. We trip ourselves up when all we can see on our private radar screens is what we consider our own plight, our ‘woe is me’ vision. We can also trip ourselves up by feeling happy and smiley and not noticing that someone near to us has a broken heart.
If we put on our ‘service-self glasses’ we can see beyond our own situation and find someone out there to whom we can give a gift.
Stay in the holiday spirit not because it’s Christmas but because you want to smile. Help someone by holding open a door for them. Give to charities because there are so many in need. Call a friend who has suffered a loss and share with them your attention and time.
Play ‘Secret Santa’ for someone. What a joy it can be to do something for someone and never let them know that you did that for them!
Think outside the box of your own feelings. It doesn’t matter whether you are smiling all the time or crying all the time. There is more in you than just those feelings. And there is more around you than just what you are feeling today.
Stay upbeat, if you can. Smile if you feel like it. Ask for help if you need it. Find someone with whom you can let your hair down and be yourself and share your feelings without judging yourself. Then find someone who might need a helping hand and offer that hand, outstretched because giving is great and receiving is, too.
Are you willing to receive help? Are you willing to give help?
Have a Happy Holiday because you can genuinely feel gratitude and joy. Smile because you have smiles to give to others. Notice if someone is having a hard time and share your smile and your heart with them.
Be yourself and you are the greatest gift you can give to the world!
PS: I hosted a wonderful Winter Solstice event this past Saturday and channeled an important message from The Divine Feminine who gave us amazing guidance for 2014. You can receive this 57 minute recording for only $14. Go to my website for immediate access: TheScientificMystic.com