Everybody loves the holidays and everybody complains about them. We look forward to the time off, the special foods, the gatherings, and we stress out about so many things that go with the holidays. The relative that won’t behave, the food that gives heartburn or extra pounds, the driving here and there to make everybody happy, the screaming children, the clean up after everybody has left.
Take a little relaxation with you as you face life. A Disney cruise is not required for you to dial down the stress just a little bit. There is more inside you than you realize that can help you relax, to let go of tension. It isn’t all outside. Remember these points:
It doesn’t have to be completely quiet for you to settle into yourself and relax.
It doesn’t have to be going just right for you to choose to enjoy yourself.
It does require that you look for moments of enjoyment and peace.
It does take some effort to concentrate on gratitude and trust to relax.
It may be an opportunity to experience God helping you to relax.
Choosing to relax may lead to experience the sacred where you are, whatever you are doing
Find a mostly quiet place and settle in. Be still. Close your eyes. You may notice your mind racing or at least distracted from anything calm. That’s okay, don’t judge or beat yourself up for the mind working how it usually does; it problem solves all day, and it’s fascinated with new, interesting things. Take a few long slow breaths. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. Do it again.
It doesn’t have to be completely quiet for you to settle into yourself and relax. When you notice thoughts or noises, or smells that distract you, turn your attention to your how your body feels right now. Send your attention to each part of the body one area at a time. How are your feet and legs? Your abdomen and belly? Your chest? Shoulders and back? Arms and hands? Neck and head? Like sending out a military scout to see what the other side is doing, you can send your attention to these parts of your body to see how they are doing. You can let go of tightness if you find it when you focus on your toes or eyebrows, and anything in between.
It doesn’t have to be going just right for you to choose to enjoy yourself. You may have aches or pains, you may have one or more big problems on your mind. It can be health problems, family problems, work problems. If you have any of these, imagine setting them in a corner of your mind. You still know they are there but choose to turn your attention elsewhere. Take some deep breaths again and let them out slowly. Let the tension go with the breaths.
It does require that you look for moments of enjoyment and peace. A child, a sunset, a thoughtful gift can bring up enjoyment and peace. Be in those moments, not denying the problems, but choosing to not allow problems to make you tense all the time. A silent expression of thanks for the gifts of each moment can lighten your mood and build your trust to relax.
Choosing to relax may lead to experience the sacred where you are, whatever you are doing. You may ask God to help you relax. Despite how hard life is, I don’t believe life is intended to be tense and difficult all the time. Let go of some of your tension and enjoy the life you have been given.
