This time of year can be an emotional soup. The darkness of world crises blends together with the glow of holiday lights, the stress of magic-making gets stirred in with gratitude for the people we love, and the beauty of all that is swirls together with grief about what isn’t.
How do you take care of yourself in the midst of all that? How do you sustain your emotional resilience so you can focus on what matters most to you in this fleeting season?
Imagine I am handing you three little boxes, each sweetly wrapped and tied with a bow. Here are three things you can gift yourself in the midst of the emotional soup this holiday season:
Bring your eye to the little things. Imagine you are a photographer who specializes in fine detail. Notice how the reflection of a candle flickers on the window glass. Look straight up into falling snow, or look closely at a single flake. Paying attention to the little things is a great way to ground yourself in the present with a sense of wonder and appreciation.
Bring your eye to the big things. While you are managing the inevitable stress over shopping, travel glitches, and irritating family dynamics, imagine you are a photographer who specializes in wide angle overhead shots. See your scene from a bird’s eye view so the noise and the strain become faint and you can see yourself surrounded by loved ones. Let the camera float even higher, and see yourself in a town, a city, a country, and on a planet full of humans all trying to find some peace in the emotional soup. Paying attention to the big things helps right-size our own stress, and remind us that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves.
Consider how you can pass on the gift of resilience to those around you. Giving to others is one of the most powerful ways to boost your own sense of happiness, so it’s a win-win! Invite someone to bake those cookies with you, or simply deliver a batch to the neighbor across the street. And consider sponsoring my e-course, Resilience, so folks who might not otherwise be able to access this tool can have some concrete support this holiday season.
Thanks to a generous sponsorship from Vermont’s homegrown fabulous rockstar Grace Potter, I currently have courses to give away! Typically every $100 sponsors one course, but between now and New Years, I’m matching every sponsorship so we can spread resilience twice as far. I made one batch of courses available to a local community-based agency, and reserved another batch for my community, here.
There are 25 courses available on a first come first serve basis.
Use promo code: HOLIDAYS for 100% discount at checkout.
To learn more about offering sponsorship to spread Resilience, just send me an email.
May this holiday season be particularly abundantly sprinkled with peace, joy and laughter,
Lindsay B. Jernigan, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist – Doctorate
802-229-8270
drlindsayjernigan.com
instagram.com/dr.lindsayjernigan