Now that Christmas Day has passed, we are in the period of time when everyone is looking toward the New Year. Once again there is hype and an exaggerated focus on parties, fun, resolutions and having the “perfect” person or activity with whom to share the celebrations.
In short, it is another opportunity for elevated expectations and disappointment.
A friend of mine gave me a great idea for beginning the year. For the last decade, she starts New Year’s Day with a cup of coffee and her Memory Jar. She settles into an easy chair and reads the small pieces of paper contained inside.
At this time of year, many people are asking themselves how to make it through the holidays. One way to help yourself through the season is by practicing self-compassion.
Holidays may be a great time to see family and friends. They are also a time when we return to old patterns and behaviors. When we go back “home,” we revert to the relationships we had growing up, instead of acting as the grownups that we now are. These are the same relationships and patterns that formed our views of ourselves and our outlooks on life. Along with this, unconscious conflicts may come to the surface, which will cause us to end up in a three-sided behavior pattern.