Chapter 25
Before you settle down for your post-feast slumber spawned by an overdose of tryptophan… take a pause and look around at all the blessings you have. Whether they are physically with you in the moment or have passed on to the spiritual side, reflect at the impact they have made on you. Was it positive? Was it negative? Do you find warmth from the remembrance or the presence with you? OR are you like most who dread the family coming over and messing up your newly cleaned carpet and worry about Uncle Ed and Uncle Bob getting into a 20 year old argument they can’t get over? No matter your specific situation, how are you being the spiritual leader in your home to bring everyone together?
Holidays can be a time of great joy or sorrow, but you get to choose. I was originally going to name this chapter “Choosing” but felt it more appropriate to attach it to the Thanksgiving holiday this week. Each person has their own story and their own history, but if you learned anything from my previous blog about “Being Present in the Moment”, you learned that you need to take that next step forward. As much as you dread Uncle Ed and Bob going at it, they are there. That means there is something that unites them and forces them to want to see each other. It sounds like a backwards messed up way of looking at things, but something keeps them connected. Is it you? What is it that you are doing? Looking at it in the most positive ways, my inner “Non-certified Therapist” tells me that they need you on some level. Accepting this makes you super important to the needs of your family and others, and especially at the holidays this can be the difference between everyone sitting down at the table and saying, “Pass The Stuffing” or Uncle Bob lighting the house on fire with a pumpkin scented candle because he is so distraught at things that happened two decades ago.
This year is different. There is no need to relive the past. This is the year you get to help and lead your family into the future. Show grace, be kind, and speak thanks to those around you. Be strong for others and help them understand and realize this world is already tough as it is, that there is no need to continue to make it a struggle for one another. If this sounds like something close to what your family experiences each year, flip the script and try something new. You have absolutely nothing to lose and when all the crumbs from the plates remain, hopefully someway the magic of the holidays have given your family a new outlook on the blessings this time of year brings. I know this sounds like a big ask for some people, but it can’t be harder than eating Aunt Gertrude’s casserole of mysterious leftovers she brings each year. It still gives me shivers to this day….
I hope this week brings you great joy and even in the hardest of moments, know that God has placed you here and wants you to accept the challenge he has presented you. I have faith you are up to the task. When the guests start arriving, thank them for wanting to come over and be with you. Let them know how much you missed them and listen to all of their stories and their woes. You may be the only person who gives them time in the world and this may be the only time all year they can let it off their chest. It’s something they are thankful for that they may never admit. When you all sit down to eat and share these stories (or you just listen because they never stop talking…), and you hear someone down the table say “Pass The Stuffing!” – just remember your role as a spiritual leader for your family and smile, then thank God for the ability to take part in these blessings with those around you!
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Written By Chris Hulme ( aka – Coach Hulme ) #CoachHulme #ChrisHulme #TheHulme
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Coach Hulme 