Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle
I submitted the following article to the magazine “Fresh”. It appeared in their publication dated December 1, 2020. (https://freshyqr.com/blog/dont-get-your-tinsel-in-a-tangle)
Christmas = Stress. This is true for a lot of people. But let’s throw another value into the equation. Covid.
The other day I dragged out my stock pot and made turkey soup. It was the first time I’ve ever allowed it to ‘brew’ for 48 hours. Soup requires certain things, and one of them is heat. Most times, the longer the heat is applied, the more flavorful it is.
If you’ve made soup stock, you know that the greater the heat applied to the pot, the more that has to be skimmed off. We humans can be like that too. The more the heat is applied, the more things come to the surface…
Human beings are designed for connection and relationship. Some of us look forward to Christmas with the same anticipation we did as children. Some of us dread it.
What are the things that you do NOT have control over? Do you have control over Uncle Bob’s drinking habit? Do you have control over Aunt Molly’s potty mouth? Do you have control over cousin Joe’s need to cheat at cards? If you think you do, I suggest you call us for a counselling appointment. ;) Not only do you not have control over those things, but now you have a microscopic germ profoundly influencing how your family operates. In fact, thanks to the stress that Covid causes, Uncle Bob’s drinking, Aunt Molly’s potty mouth and cousin Joe’s cheating will probably be exacerbated. Yes, there’s a chance that you won’t see your relatives, but if you’re like my family, you will try sharing a meal through zoom. (My family put me at the head of the table on one of their phones in the spring of this year, and apparently, I fell into the mashed potatoes.)
If you’re worrying about other people’s behavior plus things that you can’t control? That’s a LOT of energy…wasted energy.
One of the things you might notice is things coming to the surface in YOU. We typically tend to notice all the ugly things coming up in other people, but we miss the ugly things coming up in ourselves. What’s that saying about noticing a speck in someone else’s eye and not seeing the beam in our own? Do you have control over the amount of heat being applied to your soup pot or what’s bubbling up in it? No, but you DO have control over what you do with it. Chances are that if you are unable to deal with it yourself and received some counselling for it, it might make you a more flavorful person.
The Caring Place is here to help you with those mashed potatoes. We can be reached at 306-347-2273 (CARE) – website: www.thecaringplace.ca