Spiritual wellness can be defined in so many ways. In my understanding, spiritual wellness includes any activity which you feel takes care of your soul/spirit, and connects you to something bigger than yourself. The holidays are a time when this is easy for some people, and very hard for others. Maybe you love the holidays and you have a warm, welcoming family to spend them with. Maybe you have a wonderful home and family to visit, but you can’t swing buying a plane ticket this year. Maybe you completely dread the holidays because you feel forced into a religion that you don’t feel connected to. Whatever your situation might be, here are a few tips to help you take care of you spiritual health during the holidays.
Slow down
This is often a stressful time of year. We run around from one holiday gathering to the next, we run around trying to find the perfect gifts, we run around trying to keep bickering relatives at bay. We run around. Spirituality in my experience, is just the opposite. However you can, take time to slow down, connect to something bigger, and stop pressuring yourself to be perfect around this time of year.
Ways to do this: attend a religious service which brings you peace & connectedness, meditate, pause to notice the beauty around you, pray.
Connect with loved ones
When I say loved ones, I mean anyone you love. If your family treats you with love, by all means spend as much time with them as possible. On the other hand, if you have an unwelcoming family situation at home, but you find more love and connection with friends or a significant other, don’t hesitate to spend more time with those who make you feel loved. While patience and forgiveness are necessary, there seems to be a lot of pressure this time of year to have the “perfect” family experience and to ignore hurtful behavior. I would encourage you to go wherever the love is.
Ways to do this: spend time with friends and family, connect with a faith community, attend holiday events where you might make new friends, give your long-distance friends and family a call.
Give back
Helping others makes us happy! Again, this is something everyone can do in any way they want to do it. Many of us give gifts around the holidays, but there are other things we can do to help others. Giving back helps us to disconnect from the materialistic scramble that the holidays can sometimes be.
Ways to do this: volunteer at your favorite charity, help out at a shelter, donate things you don’t use, physically do something for someone you love, reach out to a friend you haven’t seen in a while.
However you practice spirituality, I wish you peace and the happiest of holidays!
