What does conscious holidays mean to you?
As I meditate, (sic) until the best answer appears to me,
I'm thinking of a good friend of mine, whose post I was recently reading on
instagram, what it means to take these holidays more softly, more
slow. Consciously. And then I remembered reading a different post about
family gatherings, and then one more for the ecological way to
prepare and choose gifts for your loved ones.
And it's okay that the meditation went without water, but I think that yes, it
is indeed a time of change. It seems to me as if we are going back
to discuss more and more "openly" about the important and the simple: how
we can live more freely and truly. And by extension how
we can also spend this holiday season with more
respect and alignment with ourselves and others.
Of course, there will be no shortage of discussions and conversations from all of this
which may be well-intentioned but at the same time carry
with them a dose of criticism. Unless we have managed to inhabit
a small island, in the middle of a river, hardly will
we avoid listening to the opinion of others, often our very own
people, for our choices. What food will we put on the table or in
our plate and how much (do you hear grandma?), with whom we will meet and why, what
gifts we got and why didn't we get this from the other instead, how we will
choose - after all - to spend these days.
Many times this dialogue has been internalized and unfolds
entirely within us.
So what if we tried to actually give a time
out to ourselves? If we recognized for this year the whole route that
we did and what does this year hold for each of us? If
we did choose few, essential or what we really need in ourselves?
The simple ones.
All it takes is a little time, some silence and active listening to ask
what we really need... And maybe that's where the answer will emerge.
Which friends and people do we really want to meet and
for how long. How much food do we need and what kind? Gifts
made with
meaning for you to offer them, from companies that align with
your moral principles or coming from small businesses.
Conscious holidays, I realize (ha there! meditation worked διαλογισμός δούλεψε
famously) is to take some time. In the sveltada and the
many obligations. Maybe in the middle of the river. And let's choose
the ones that really deserve our time, energy, love. And
to give them away from this very point.