Finding Balance During The Holidays

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Vedam

The holiday season can be the most wonderful time of the year with all the festivities, gifts, parties, and general merriment. It can also be extremely hectic, busy, overwhelming, and the saddest time of the year. As a life coach, I hear it all; and in years gone by I have personally experienced both aspects of the holidays. Now, and in the last decade or so, it has been a wonderful time, and wonderful memories have been created. So, what is it that makes the difference? Throughout this post, it is my intention to offer some general insights and talk specifically about the differences, and maintaining balance in your life through this time of year.

A balanced life, an a aware life, is a life that is in sync and is able to flow with whatever arises. A unbalanced life is off kilter, out of sync, and exhausting, to say the least. Then, when you add in everything that comes along with the holidays, what is already chaotic turns into something that could be described as ‘manic.’ As a life coach, I help people find and maintain balance in their life in general, and I thought it would be beneficial to talk more specifically about having, and maintaining, balance during this time of year. Let’s face facts, for most of us, life is quite busy all year long, and then you add all of the extra shopping, decorating, cooking, parties, travel, family time, etc. to the equation, it can seem overwhelming, exhausting, and nerve-wracking.

I have found that balance is different for each person, but even in those differences, each person has to find his or her own balance. I have also found that when a person is off kilter and something happens unexpectedly, they are more prone to spin completely out of control, compared to a person who is in balance when something unexpectedly happens, and they are more prone to move through it with some sort of grace and ease. That being said, a person that is already in balance seems to move through all situations better than someone who is off-balance. For example, think about having two cars; one that is in balance and the other that is not. Both take you on a trip, but which one is going to have a smoother and more comfortable ride? If the car is seriously out of alignment, you could even feel ‘beat up’ by the time you get there!

Balancing Life

A life can be divided into 10 equal parts: mental, leisure, play, business, family, physical, financial, sexuality, intimacy, and spirituality. As I said, each of us has to find our own balance within each of these categories, and the unity of their collective energy. So let’s begin to break this down; let’s take each category, talk about it relating to the holiday season, and let’s see where it takes us.

Spirituality

I am going to start with what I think is the most important section of someone’s life; one’s spirituality. I have found when a person is ‘starving’ spiritually, not much goes right, and when it does, it could have gone even smoother if they had been rooted in their spirituality. Spirituality does not have to include or involve any sort of religion. Often, and in many cases, religion will get in the way of one’s spirituality. I have found in many situations, people have been scarred from their religious upbringing, and they throw the baby out with the bath water, giving up on spirituality, and their spirituality never is embraced. My point: you do not have to be religious to be spiritual. Then on the other hand, I have found people that have embraced a specific religious doctrine and that is their expression of their spirituality. Find what works for you, and if need be, create it as you go.

One of the things that you can do, no matter what your religious beliefs are, is add a meditation practice to your day. If you can add this into your morning routine, you will find that it is a great way to start off your day on the right track. If you do not know how to meditate; there is nothing to it really. Sit down, get comfortable, and breathe consciously. As you are breathing consciously, watch the breath. As you are sitting there, the mind may be active. Don’t worry about that, and DO NOT try to stop the mind; just begin to observe the mind. Watch what thoughts are happening, and when you realize that you have switched from observing the thoughts to participating with those thoughts, STOP, and go back to observing.  You can also visit www.loveliveandlaugh.com/meditation or www.loveliveandlaugh.com/podcasts for guided meditations to help you get started and maintain a practice of meditation.

Starting your day in this manner is a way to start your day off on the right track; it is a way to start your day being centered, aligned and in balance.

I have also found in many situations, taking ‘mini-meditation breaks’ throughout your day can also be quite beneficial (especially when life is really busy and/or chaotic). Have you ever had an upset stomach and difficulty keeping food down? In those situations, you have to take small bites, and eat small simple meals. Taking mini-meditation breaks throughout your day will help keep you centered and balanced. In this scenario, notice I  said mini breaks. It doesn’t have to be a long, sit-down meditation; it can be 1-5 minutes. Just a small, simple spiritual “meal” to keep yourself  balanced. Just step away from the situation, shut your eyes, and breathe!

It is amazing that doing ‘nothing’ can be so beneficial to everything. It may not make sense to you until you try it, but give it a try and see for yourself. Again, if you need help with this, you can find written information about meditation on this site, and there are also guided meditations that you can listen to. You can listen directly from the site or download them onto your iPod from iTunes. Either way, if you want a balanced life, I KNOW that meditation is the best way to begin that process.

I really cannot say that out of the other 9 sections, one is more important that the others, so the rest of these are in no specific order…

Financial

Financial stress can be a huge factor in contributing to an unbalanced life. It seems that during the holiday season, we spend more not only on gifts, but grocery bills, decorating, and travel. Relating to finances, the best thing to do is to spend within your means. Do NOT spend when you do not have it; especially, do NOT spend on a credit card, even if you think that you have the money coming. Things happen, and your money may be late coming or something else may come up.  Dealing with phone calls from your financial institution about late payments is no fun, and avoiding answering the phone because you think it could be a bill collector makes an already bad situation worse. Spend within your means; and get creative with your gift-giving ideas. For example, you could easily spend $25-30 at the grocery and make many batches of sugar cookies to use as gifts. If cooking is not your thing, you could also spend that much or less, and buy the things that you need to create a holiday wreath for someone. People love those types of gifts, especially the ones they can pull out and use over and over again. If shortness of money is your issue, create a gift certificate to give to them, and donate your time to them. Give them a house cleaning certificate, or donate your time to run errands for someone, go to the grocery store for them, help them get organized, etc. Gifts do not have to cost an arm and a leg; actually gifts don’t have to cost a thing, other than your time and effort. So get creative with it, expand your horizons, and look for other ways to show your love to someone other than going bankrupt in the process.

I will stop here for today, and pick up where we left off in the next post.

Much love and Namaste…

Show Your Support

If you have found what I have said to be support for you, made a difference for you, and would like to help spread the word of a new way of being, please do so by sharing this with your friends. Introduce them to Love, Live & Laugh. You can also show your support through financial support. Your sharing enables me to continue to offer these spiritual insights (blog posts, podcast) to everyone. All donations are appreciated.


 

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