This year the holidays are looking a little different. Instead of the hustle and bustle of traveling from event to event, shopping in stores, and attending holiday parties with coworkers and friends, we find ourselves in a very different holiday season.
Many of our traditional events have been canceled. We are longing for connection. The zoom calls are working temporarily and we are grateful for the technology, but sometimes they just don’t replace the actual face-to-face interactions we are craving.
What can we do?
We can resolve our anger. Anger and the path to your heart are incompatible. The keys that unlock your heart’s treasures are compassion, kindness, forgiveness and non-judgment – toward the world, the people in it and, no doubt, yourself.
In the heart of gratitude, there is acceptance. It can be really hard to truly connect to feelings of gratitude when we wish things were different. Yogarupa Rod Stryker reminds us, “When we can accept all of it, then we are grateful for all of it. Thankful that every day we are blessed – what has been, what is, what will be. Thankful for the beauty and the gift that is life and the opportunities to share it, for family, for love and most of all, to touch and to know the source of it all.”
Getting real with what we have instead of wanting something else moves us toward gratitude. We can acknowledge the gifts in our lives, including people, nature, and everything that has turned our world upside down in 2020.
May the practice of gratitude lead us to peace – peace in our hearts as we end this year and transition into a new year full of possibilities. We have a choice every day to show up, to listen carefully, to be courageous and kind.
Please take a moment, right now, and stop what you are doing. Place your hands over your heart. Recognize and give thanks for the blessings in your life. It may not be how you imagined this year would end, but when we accept what is, gratitude for what we have fills our hearts.
