For some, the holidays are a time of anguish. This is true for all kinds of reasons, and for those of us that enjoy holiday festivities and cheer, it is difficult to understand or be compassionate to these woes. Yet, they occur and the more we understand holiday woes, the better we can deal with them.
The holidays are loud and busy
For some who like quieter, more natural living, the holiday glam and glitter are too much to handle thus creating a sense of frustration and discomfort. To counter this feeling, it's good to take some control over the holidays to make the celebrations more to your liking, but that takes some forethought and preplanning which not everyone is ready or able to do.
Holiday expectations are expensive and time consuming
If you're a busy person with little time, or someone with few extra dollars, the holiday expectations can be oppressive. To shop for gifts you can't afford or prepare the holiday home and foods with little time is oppressive at best. Of course, again, you can simiplify by making homemade gifts throughout the year or picking up items on sale and lessening the holiday decor and simplifying the meals. It's not always easy to change traditions to make those traditions more in line with who you are and how you live, but ultimately to do that, will probably result in a happier holiday.
Holidays bring back painful memories
For some, the holidays bring back painful memories and thoughts of people lost or gone. I guess that the only way to deal with this is to bring some meaning to these memories and find a good place for them. Of course, that's easier said than done, and we all have to be sensitive to the holiday pain that people feel.
As I think of the holiday woes people experience, I want to be kind and compassionate with the knowledge that we all experience the hoidays differently as well as to respect that variability as well as find ways to make the holidays cheerful and welcoming for the varied ways that people experience these festivities. Onward.