Twelve Days of Holiday Truths for 2021

I wrote a post like this last year and it was so well received that I decided to make it a holiday tradition here at Finding Sanctuary. Are you ready? Here goes:

1. Sanctuary during the holidays takes on an extra special glow. The focus of the holidays is so much about “home” but yet, with all of the social commitments we end up spending less time there than usual. But that contrast serves to make the sanctuary of home ever more enticing, particularly when it’s made more festive (Philip suggested I describe this as “festivated” and I had to say no) with twinkling lights, candles and soft music. 
2. Going back to school for my master’s degree has not been for the faint of heart. Always there is a final paper due in December before the holidays and it adds to the holiday madness in a way I could not have previously appreciated. Since I’ll be doing this for at least a couple more (if not a few) years, all I want for Christmas is an academic paper writing Sherpa.
3. Saying no (I hope you are listening, Philip) is more important in December than any other month. Too many yes’s can lead to a schedule that is not sustainable and will truly push us right over the edge. No = freedom to rest and be spontaneous. 
4. It’s all too easy to let our routine of self-care go during the holiday season. I think it’s actually more important than ever to hold on to it during this time. It can be an abbreviated version of what we normally do and we can incorporate a lot of flexibility, but we still need rest and calm and down-time to stay steady.
5. Fresh holiday music is a treasure. It’s not that I don’t love you, Burl Ives, but there is something delicious about new sounds. Check out Jennifer Chung and Around the Fire. 
6. Crystals make THE BEST holiday gifts — they truly keep on giving all year long. Check out some of the beauties here at the Blessed Crystal Company and here at LOVEThirteen. I don’t know about you, but bringing new energy and a higher vibration to 2022 is high on my list of priorities.
7. For some reason, there have been an inordinate amount of accidents that have happened around here lately. Please be careful out there. Drive a little slower, stop looking at your phone when you are driving or walking, and bring as much presence as you can to what you are doing. It just may help keep you out of harm’s way.
8. Everyone is dealing with something. May we be as tolerant and kind as we can possibly be.
9. Taking time to look in someone’s eyes when they are talking to us and telling them something we appreciate about them can change the tenor of a conversation and an entire relationship. Gratitude is one of the most powerful, connecting energies in the entire cosmos.
10. There are two things our kids need from us: roots and wings. I read that somewhere a few years ago and as my son moved out into the world this year, I can tell you that never have I understood this truth more clearly. Watching him fly is a pleasure of the rarest kind and having him return home for a holiday or weekend is simply over-the-top wonderful. 
11. I do not like poinsettias. There, I said it. I know most people love them, but there is something about those pointy leaves that makes me think they are mean and angry. 
12. We have a new holiday tradition around here — laying on our backs, outside in our driveway, looking at the Geminid Meteor Shower, sipping on a glass of eggnog (slightly fortified, of course) in early- to mid-December. Next year, you have to join us. 

Hoping your holidays are filled with love, laughter and transcendent moments of blissful sanctuary.

With gratitude,

Lisa