I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about making s’mores while watching Hallmark Christmas movies. What I do know is that I will probably never get tired of it because each year, it gets more exciting. It’s become a tradition for me.
If you’ve been around here, you know I had to grow up quickly and also didn’t have Christmas traditions as a kid. When I got older and started dating, I gravitated towards relationships that reflected my childhood. So the holidays never had that Christmas magic.
It was also on me. I held back a lot because I didn’t know how to be me and quite frankly, I didn’t feel safe enough to be myself. Then I got sober, and with time, being a bystander in my own life became a hard limit.
That’s my hope for you- to love and respect yourself so much that you won’t settle for mediocrity or breadcrumbs, even from yourself. Life, and yes, especially during the holidays, is far too magical to not enjoy. Something powerful happens when you start believing and feeling the Christmas magic. You become living proof that miracles happen everyday in the most ordinary moments.
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Just in case you’re not aware, you’re allowed to be happy. You don’t need to keep atoning for who you are or put off your happiness for one day in the distant future.
Don’t wait until you’re healed, have more money, have more confidence, have that career, etc. Enjoying right now is what heals you and gives you confidence. Feeling abundant right now is what attracts wealth and prosperity.
You can’t get what you want until you start feeling it. So start feeling it. Lean into everything you want. Embrace it.
Worried you don’t have all the answers? None of us do. That’s the beauty of it. Don’t believe me? Reflect back on a time when you had fun- I mean, real genuine fun that makes you giddy with excitement when you think about it. Do you know what was so fun about that moment? That you didn’t have the answers. You were too busy enjoying yourself to be burdened with what was coming next. You were fully immersed in the present moment.
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Create new traditions. Have a slow sober December. Treat yourself to an advent calendar. Walk around your town admiring the decorations. Warm up with a cup of hot chocolate and add all the marshmallows the child in you always wanted but your parents never allowed you to have. You can even take the hot chocolate out on your walk. Catch all the snowflakes you can. Do whatever it is that’s going to spark a fire in you- no matter how silly or childlike it is.
Happiness and peace begin with the memories you’re collecting right now. So get out there and give yourself your presence. Live in the moment. Celebrate life right now. In case no one told you, you deserve good things. Treat yourself like you do. And watch the holiday magic unfold.
I’ll see you soon…in the meantime, love yourself so much that even a Hallmark Christmas movie would be jealous.
