In the spirit of the season you used your credit card so much it almost melted, you abandoned a balanced diet for three square meals of egg nog and chocolate, and you almost started the next world war by choosing to celebrate with your mother and stepfather on one night and your dad and his girlfriend the next.

A winter wonderland it’s not.

Joan Borysenko, a scientist, psychologist, and inspirational speaker, takes a hard look at why most people are anything but jolly when December rolls around:

“I was once as grouchy as Scrooge about the winter holidays. Even as my husband and I assembled bikes for the kids in the wee hours of Christmas morning . . . I fretted over whether we were conveying the true spirit of the season or just training superconsumers. I dreaded the annual shopping and eating free-for-all that left us thinner in the wallet, fatter in the thighs, and exhausted from all the effort. By the time New Year’s Day finally rolled around each year, I was a basket case. Where was the sacred aspect? I wondered.”

To avoid mental, emotional, or spiritual stress during the season Borysenko recommends looking at the holidays (Kwanza, Christmas, Hannukah, whatever they may be) as a time to move past the old and make room for the “birth of the new in you.”

To infuse the season with even more meaning Borysenko says:

• Create a charity box. This is a spot where everyone in the family drops loose change at the end of each day. At some point during the holidays — a perfect time would be when you exchange presents — decide what cause you’ll donate the money to next December.
• Have a party with spiritual pizzazz. Invite 5 to 10 people and ask them to bring festive food and drink. Give each person a turn to speak without interruption about the lessons they’ve learned in the past year. Then take a few minutes to write down old habits that each of you is ready to let go of, and burn the collected papers in a fireplace if you have one, or in another safe place.
• Give out love coupons. Create them by hand from colored paper, or even design them on the computer. They can be good for stories and trips to the zoo for kids; home-cooked, romantic candlelit dinners (or more amorous activities) for spouses; walks in special places with friends. Foot rubs, back rubs, concerts, chores…the possible delights are endless.

[via Prevention Magazine]

(Illustration: Cardweb.com)