By embracing compassion that we are all doing the best we can during a very unusual and not normal time we can ground our nervous systems, just a little bit, into ease and grace during tumultuous times.

The more we ignore and dismiss the stress that we are experiencing under the hood, the more likely we are to get sick, withdraw from others, or cannot find a way to relax and enjoy the holiday spirit.

We encourage you to give yourself gifts that are not objects but can fill you with nurturing, compassion, gratitude and connection. YOU are just as important as everyone else on your gift list!

Allowing yourself to feel both positive and negative emotions is healthy. Dr. Dan Siegel’s research on ‘Name it to tame it’ was groundbreaking in its use of fMRI images showing the disengagement of the brain’s amygdala when emotions are labeled and talked about. Now new research with nearly 1,700 participants over a five year period also showed healthy psychological outcomes for those who allow both negative and positive emotions to be felt and experienced.

Mindfulness can help us hold some of the heavy feels of 2021 by accepting the current environment as it is. Right now you might know people who are ill; right now you might be fearful of a party or travel plan being cancelled because you or someone else is sick. When we compound this reality with feeling disappointed our ‘normal’ 2019 lives have not returned along with stress around the rising cost of everything, hopelessness can easily set in.

2020 was a heavy year in so many ways that it feels nearly impossible to be strong enough to reflect and hold all we have been through. Add continued uncertainty around when we will be safe to resume person-person interaction and this ritual that we have done for years, holding the old and the new, becomes overwhelming.

When I felt overwhelm and uncertainty stirring in my belly and chest, I also noticed a voice singing “na na na, na na na”. When I slowed down to hear the song playing in my head, the lyrics below were loud and clear*:

I'm starting with the <human> in the mirror
I'm asking <them> to change <their> ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

~ Glenn Ballard & Seida Garrett