It is the holiday season and there is a lot of joy and excitement around celebrating and spending time with the people we care about. As beautiful as it is, it is not always easy !
I don’t know about you but this year I swear I ran out of ideas. Gift, gifts, and more gift used to be my motto, I guess it was that American mentality in me of “go big or go home”. But since I have been living in France the holidays have changed for me. I can’t say if it is a good or bad thing, it is just different.
Living aboard can really change your traditions and make you look at some holidays from a different perspective or stop celebrating some of them altogether. In the era of coronavirus, getting home to see your loved ones is as tricky and frustrating as ever. Going through airports these days can suck the joy and life right out of you before you can even get to where you want to go. Some people can’t handle the stress of the rules and how fast all the rules change. “PCR or “No PCR Test” that is the question?!
We have to decide “Should I stay or should I go?!” That’s really the theme song that repeats in your head when you think of going home for any holidays now. We are all scared that if we go and get the virus we will be stuck in quarantine for weeks and not be able to see anybody or enjoy anything. It would all be a waste of time and money.
“So what is it all about really?!” you start to ask…
I started to ask myself this question this year and the answer I found brought me to a place of full redirection about everything. The old ideas I had or the old ways of living, and being has changed so much over these past two years. I realised my way of thinking and doing things was for a lifestyle that no longer exists. There are things that I needed to change or leave behind this holiday season and going into the new year. Here are some of my insights on what you may also want to think of letting go of in this new place we are in:
1. Fixed Holidays: I am not so sure when it happened, when the whole world agreed this is when we do this. Don’t get me wrong I love all the gatherings, lights, events, parades, and excuses to have a party. That, I don’t really want to change, but I think we all have to get more flexible around the holiday season. Everyone flying at the same time of year, cramming themselves into the same small place just to give each other the virus is really not the best idea. None of us know when this pandemic is going to end so, I think we have to get flexible. I mean they start putting up Christmas decorations at the beginning of November. Why not Christmas dinner on the 1st of December? Plane tickets would be cheaper, and more people would be around. When you have family and friends you can’t be near, don’t wait for a calendar to tell you when to celebrate together. Call it an annual family reunion. Make up your own traditions and celebrate whenever the time seems right.
2. Old Ways of Thinking: If there is anything that we have learned in the past couple of years with all of the different issues we are facing across the world, it is that the old way we used to do things is not working. We are forcibly being kicked into a new way of being. So instead of clinging to the past, being nostalgic about how things used to be, and trying to hold on to something that doesn’t exist anymore or that is dying, it may be better to ask yourself how you are going to live in this new era? Take some time to really see what needs to change in your life to live fully even when the whole world is shut down. What really brings you joy? What do you need in your life to feel fulfilled when all of the distractions have been taken away? Who and what is important?
3. How It Should Be: Since coronavirus, I think at some point we all had or are having that “how it should be” conversation. I should be able to go home, I should be able to see my family, go to the cinema, travel, go to the bar, etc… To be honest I don’t know if should can even exist in a time when no one really has any idea what is going on, how long it is going to last, and if the circumstances will get better or worse. Everything is so unpredictable that the word should can get thrown right out of the window. At this stage, coronavirus is making us all live in the present moment and take it one day at a time. And does anyone know how things “should be” in a pandemic?
Do yourself a favour. Ditch the “should be” and get into “just being”. Just being, having and doing the best you can with what you got. Because if you are waiting for things to turn back to the way they “should be” you may be waiting a long time!
In summary, let go of the old way and while you still have the choice, create the new way that you want to live your life in 2022. You can either keep waiting for things to go back to the way they were or you can start creating a life you want to live based on how things are.
If you have no idea how to make change or want help planning your new way of living sign up for my Create Your Vision for 2022 package where I walk through creating a vision and strategy for the new year! Click link: https://bit.ly/3ySGPOB to sign up for the package today!