It’s a choice.

It may not feel like it – and it may not be easy, but it’s a choice.

 

There are (at least) two  levels of choice.

First:  What you choose to do or not do, in other words,   how busy you choose to be.

Second: Your awareness about what you are doing.

 

If you choose to do something – say bake some shortbread cookies or some other labour heavy holiday tradition, you can approach it in different ways.

You can fight crowds at the grocery store, get exhausted hauling the groceries home, rush through the job and make a mess, multi task several other chores simultaneously, answer the phone, yell at a child and be very relieved when your task is finally complete and you can get on to something else.

OR

You could go to the grocery store and notice the different people preparing for their festive season.  You could choose to share a few words with them and enjoy the process of choosing the food for your loved ones.  You could be grateful that we have such an abundance of food options available.  You could offer good wishes to the checkout person who is working so very hard at this time of year.  When you get home, you could appreciate that your body is able to carry your groceries from the car to the kitchen and notice that a little exertion feels good.  You could choose to enjoy the process of making the cookies (or other labour of love) and be curious about how the food science works to make them so exceptional.  You may choose to share the task with a child or other loved one and to pass on what you have learned of your family traditions. 

What would that be like?

Just a reminder for these busy days leading up to the festive season.

Enjoy each moment.