Five simple truths this holiday season

Are you feeling rushed and overwhelmed with things to do, be, and buy this holiday season? Here are my 5 Simple Truths to ground you and bring you peace amidst the December frenzy.

1. Traditions matter, and the most memorable ones are simple and inexpensive. More than material goods, practices are what we remember when we are older. Create experiences and traditions – legacies – for your families this season whether you have children or not. Light candles from 5-6 p.m. each night and listen to holiday music. Bake cookies and bring them to your neighbors. Create centerpieces and wreaths for your home with local branches and leaves you gather near your home. Give items you’re no longer using to those who can benefit from them now. Love with an open heart.

2. Home is where your soul rests. So many of us get teary-eyed when we hear the song, “I’ll be home for Christmas” because no matter where we are, and where home is, we want to be with those we love most at the holidays. The definition of home may have changed for you over the years, but where your soul rests is really where home is. Give yourself the gift of going home this year. Ask yourself what that would require, and do it.

3. Love is in the details. Without overwhelming yourself, think about which details you can attend to this holiday that will make a difference in your experience of the month. Home decor? Special meals? Pretty invitations to a small dinner party? Jewelry for a special occasion? Hosting a cookie swap or gift exchange with a unique theme? Try to find three ways – around your home or in your relationships – to delight in the details because in those details, love resides.

4. Winter is winter for a reason. This is the season of rest. On the medicine wheel, winter is in the North. We were meant to retreat and unwind this month. Spring and summer are the months of activity and creation and movement. What would it look like for you to take a liberal dose of Bear medicine and hibernate? Many of us fail to rest in the winter as nature intended and find ourselves out of sync with the seasons for the rest of the year. Locate your North now, and get the slumber you need. Let Yourself Be.

5. The best gifts are free. What are gifts after all without love, attention, and presence? Don’t sacrifice presence for presents this year. Show up for the moments of your life this season and lead by example for others around you. What words and actions do your loved ones need from you right now? Offer those first before material gifts and your holidays will be brighter for it.

So it is.

Yuletide blessings and goddess love this season and ever,
Athena

Image, “Winter” by Lauri Blank