Submitted by Merry Bruton
Holiday time is wrapping up, a season which usually demands a shift from 'normal' to accelerated activity, both in schedule and bank account. I don't know about you, but I have had way too many items on my task list, many of which never got done, either because of limited time, energy, money, or sincere motivation on my part.
Holiday time is wrapping up, a season which usually demands a shift from 'normal' to accelerated activity, both in schedule and bank account. I don't know about you, but I have had way too many items on my task list, many of which never got done, either because of limited time, energy, money, or sincere motivation on my part.
Or maybe all that stuff wasn't necessary in the first place.
I have felt like I was behind on everything! Christmas is barely past, 2013 not quite here yet, and I spotted Valentine and Easter displays in the stores already. Am I really behind, or is something in our culture a little amiss?
Holidays dawn upon us, along with their delights and demands. But hopefully a chance to fully engage at the most positive and joyful level possible.
Families grow, circumstances change, finances tighten, and we find ourselves having to examine priorities and forcing adjustments to our traditions and attitudes.
Sometimes painful, this shift can also become blissfully liberating. We get to ask, "WHY are we doing this, and is it serving us well?" If not, we can let it go and make room for something much better.
I think many of us fear not meeting perceived expectations and disappointing those around us. Can we possibly bake enough, keep a sparkling, twinkling home, and shine brilliantly for all those parties? What will people think and say, if we don't keep up?
Some of our friends expect us to perform and give, and we hate to disappoint. How much pressure, though, comes from within, from not meeting our OWN expectations, that are based on, WHAT?
Let's agree to a healthy change this coming year. Take a breath, and instead of running on autopilot, let's evaluate our current priorities, make wise choices, and kick the guilt to the curb.
A reboot of perspective rattles the routine but produces restful, refreshing resolve in the process.
It is time to get grounded. We need to seize the realization of Who we are and What we are created to do--so that we can focus, prioritize, and use our time and resources to launch squarely into our destiny, not looking to the left or the right, not letting culture or anyone else dictate to us who we are 'supposed' to be.
We must say 'no' to the non-essentials and non-helpfuls that keep us off-center.
2013 is the year to step fully into our destiny as world-changers and light-bringers. May you live your dreams this year and courageously shine out loud in a world that pressures us to conform to…'normal'.
