A Mindful Merry Christmas – How to Stay Present, Grateful, and Grounded During the Holidays
Sandra O'Neill provides valuable psychoeducation, customised training, and counselling services in the workplace through the unique perspective of a mental health professional who has also had years of senior leadership experience across various business sectors, within corporate organisations, government, not-for-profit, and small business.
At its core, mindfulness is about purposefully focusing your awareness on the present moment. It involves mental training and impacts how we interact with the world around us. It cultivates awareness to keep us centred and grounded. This helps with anxiety, depression, stress reduction, and our overall mental health.
It’s about being in the moment, the present time, highly aware of your surroundings, taking in the sensations. We can’t control the future, and we most certainly cannot change the past, yet we spend much of our precious mind energy thinking about both. Mindfulness allows you to savor the present moment with intention.
Considering this, as we are in the midst of the silly season, preparing to wind down from work, planning for holidays, and finishing the Christmas shopping (or starting it!), here’s a challenge:
Mindfully enjoy it!
Consciously appreciate the job you are winding down from, treasure the people in your life that you’re sharing the holidays with, and really cherish the loved ones you are buying the presents for! Yes, you know the ones your children, your family, your loved ones. Remember, it’s not just about the tinsel and wrapping paper, it’s really about the intent behind it. Don’t lose sight of that. Reflect on your meaning of Christmas, whatever that idea holds for you. It doesn’t have to be about religion, extravagant presents, or Santa. It can represent your values and beliefs.
Acknowledge that this time of year is also difficult for many people. It can be a time of loneliness and isolation, noticing who isn’t there. If you cannot relate to this, then count yourself fortunate and mindfully acknowledge all you are grateful for in your life right now. The simple things that are, in fact, the most important. If you can relate to a feeling of sadness during the season, reflect that each season is an opportunity for renewal and hold onto the hope that each beginning brings.
How can I enjoy a mindful Christmas?
Being mindful and present in the moment is a way to really be in life’s journey instead of watching it from the sidelines. Create special memories that can be forever cherished and remember what is truly important to you.
With practice, mindfulness allows us to change the neuroplasticity in our brains and create new neural pathways. Yes, we can literally change the way we think and rewire our brains! Mindfulness therapies are backed by evidence. Mindfulness differs from meditation, with no need to be in a separate place or take a specific amount of time.
Practicing mindfulness can be flexible, adaptable, and highly personal. It may be as simple as taking a mental image in your mind and a deeper awareness of your surroundings. For example, on Christmas morning, sitting by the tree, unwrapping presents with loved ones, listening to the laughter, and smelling the turkey cooking while enjoying the taste of your favorite drink. Take that in. Don’t miss the moment. Enjoy.
The great news is, this can literally be applied to any other aspect or activity that you do. Sadly, too often people look back with regret because they didn’t take the mental time to savor these moments, and opportunities can be missed in the chaos of life. Looking back with appreciation of the good times helps to get through the inevitable bad times. Riding the good and bad waves becomes more tolerable because we have stronger mental images to hold our memories. That may feel like a harsh reality, but you can change that going forward. You are the only one who can do that for yourself. It may only take seconds or minutes in a day. Will you afford that to yourself? That might just be the greatest Christmas gift of all.
A simple art
The art of mindfulness is like learning a new skill in anything. It is probably easier said than done because our monkey minds want to drift back to the past or go into the future. You might not even think you are good at it at first, and that may be true. So, think about the first time you learned to drive a car, mmmm, practice. Same for mindfulness.
The many benefits of mindfulness
In addition to reducing stress and anxiety, practicing mindfulness will help with cognitive function, such as focused awareness and increased concentration. There are also many related physical health benefits, like better sleep and immune function. Best of all, mindfulness improves mental well-being by supporting emotional regulation. This allows you to pay curious attention to your thoughts, feelings, and emotions, accepting them for what they are, letting them ‘just be’, without the pressure of judgment. With this sense of regulation, you will be better equipped to manage interpersonal relationships and communications. This practice can be personal, powerful, and productive.
You will learn to trust yourself more through acceptance, patience, and letting go of situations that are beyond your control. Through your observations, you’ll learn to appreciate the little things in life and activate your senses.
Make it work for you
There are numerous ways to practice mindfulness, so find a way that works for you. It can simply fit in with your day-to-day activities, amongst the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Mindfulness matters because it can help you not only get on top of your mental health, but also absorb life with greater awareness, rather than it rushing by, noticing life more as you live it.
Read more from Sandra O'Neill
Sandra O'Neill, Psychoeducation Trainer & Counsellor
Sandra O'Neill brings together a unique blend of experience in mental health, education, and business, intertwining these areas of knowledge to empower individuals and business leaders. As a Trainer and Registered Counsellor, she specialises in psychoeducation, particularly within the workplace, bringing together decades of knowledge in business, leadership, and organisational practices, to align with the psychosocial responsibilities of a modern era workplace. With a passion in human services, Sandra also provides counselling to individuals through workplace and private practice, to support mental health and wellbeing.
