Easing into the Holidays
The other evening, I sat at my dining room table with a cup of soup warming my hands, the soft glow of the lamp casting a golden circle of light around me. Outside, the world was already dark, and inside I could almost feel the season shifting, that quiet whisper of winter approaching, of gatherings, traditions, and expectations slowly waking up for another year.
And with that whisper came something else, a tiny flutter in my chest, that familiar mix of excitement, anxiety, and grief that tends to arrive this time of year.
Are you feeling both the anticipation of the season and a quiet heaviness in your heart? The kind that comes when joy and grief sit beside each other? For many of us, the holidays hold both, the excitement of familiar traditions and the tender ache of memories that surface this time of year.
The desire to create beautiful moments and the pressure we place on ourselves to hold everything together. The hope for a peaceful season and the fear that we won’t do or be enough. It’s a lot for a single heart to hold.
We’ve been conditioned to believe the holidays must be busy, bustling, and bursting with activity, as if the magic only arrives through doing. Shopping, decorating, hosting, planning, remembering every detail. And while each of these things carries its own sweetness, they can become heavy when they stack too tightly on top of one another.
Somewhere along the way, we absorbed the idea that we must be everything to everyone during the holiday; perfectly cheerful, patient, prepared and present. But over the years, I’ve learned that stress doesn’t come from the holidays themselves, it comes from who we think we have to be during them.
We forget that the holidays don’t ask us to be perfect. Instead they ask us to be present, to savor connection, to soften and the remember that the glow of the season comes from hearts meeting, not tasks accomplished.
I’ve had years when the pressure of it all wrapped too tightly around my shoulders, not because of other people, but because of my own swirl of expectations: the shopping, the hosting, the running, and the doing. And underneath it all, a tender place in my heart that surfaces every December.
It was Christmastime when I lost my Dad, and no matter how many years pass, my heart still gets a little soft around the edges as the season approaches. Maybe you’ve felt that too, a quiet ache that comes alongside the joy. A whisper inside that says, “I love this season… but sometimes it’s a lot.”
The truth is, the holidays can stir up memories, beautiful ones, bittersweet ones, and everything in between. They can make us feel rushed when what we really crave is rest or make us feel guilty for slowing down when our hearts know that’s exactly what we need.
But what if entering the holidays didn’t feel like running a marathon? What if it felt more like opening a door, slowly, softly, with intention?
This year, I’m choosing to approach the season differently. Not by adding more to my days, but by loosening my grip on the pressure to do it all.
I want to notice the magic tucked between the moments, the glow of the tree in a dark room, the warmth of a simple meal shared, the wonder in my granddaughter’s eyes, and even the stillness of early morning before the world wakes.
I want to remind myself, every chance I get that I don’t have to rush, be perfect, or push. I want to move through the holidays with grace and intention, letting the experience unfold instead of trying to choreograph every detail.
Some of the sweetest memories I hold weren’t created by grand gestures, they emerged from being present enough to receive them.
So before the season picks up its usual momentum, here’s a gentle invitation for your heart:
You don’t have to do all the things.
You don’t have to match the pace of the world around you.
You don’t have to ignore the tender places or rush past what you feel.
You’re allowed to take this season softly.
You’re allowed to choose peace over pressure.
You’re allowed to let simple moments be more than enough.
Let this be the year you enter the holidays with ease, appreciation, and grace. And let it be the year you remember that you don’t have to carry the season, you only have to live it by easing into the holidays.
xo, Sheryl
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