When The Holidays Aren’t Fun

There are many things that can seem to steal the joy from holidays.  Sometimes it’s people you dread being around, the commercialism, stress in trying to get it all done, money worries, or the feeling of being alone.  Whatever happened to the joy you felt as a child around the holidays?  That’s a good question to ask yourself…do you know you can have this joy all over again?

I know you have probably told yourself that you can’t be like a child about the holidays.  But you know what… you can!   It is possible for you to connect with the spirit of the holidays, the very spark of love, joy and excitement all over again.  Here’s how…

It’s all still there… inside of you.  If you don’t feel it now it’s just because you have turned off the feeling.  See, there is nothing outside of you that ever caused that feeling anyway…but you have spent a long time telling yourself that things outside of you have caused you to feel the way you feel.  You have told yourself you are happy because “something outside of you” has made you happy.  You think that because you have gotten older and because of life changes, your fun, love, joy and excitement have gone away.  Now you feel that people, stress, commercialism, money worries, and being alone have taken away the joy.

What if it isn’t true?  What if you can feel all that all over again?  Here’s a little experiment I want you to try…

Find a place where you will not be interrupted for about 5 minutes.

• Set your alarm; there’s one on your cell phone so don’t make it tough.
• Be comfortable and close your eyes.
• In your mind’s eye I want you to connect yourself with a time when your holiday were just awesome.
• Find one of these moments.
• Who’s there?
• What are you doing?
• What does it look like around you?
• Do you smell special smells?
• Notice how your body feels.
• What do you feel in your body when you feel happy?
• What are the sensations that you connect with in your body when you are joyful?
• Notice how vivid the pictures are in your mind’s eye.  It’s like it is happening all over again.
• Just experience all the joy, love and excitement in the moment.

You can tap into this joy at any moment.  Why? Because you created this joy all along.  And it is possible for you to connect to it at any moment you choose.  So choose to be present to it a much as you want during this holiday season.  It is there for you to experience.  You know exactly what it feels like, and you don’t have to sit quietly to bring that experience present.  Just feel it in your heart and choose to bring it present.