Holiday Season... A time for Gratitude or Unsolicited Advice/Ridicule

The Holiday Season is a wonderful time for us to reconnect with our family and friends. We might have seen some of them just yesterday, and for others, many months or years have passed. We gather together enjoying a variety of delicious foods and beloved company, hopefully sharing a peaceful sense of gratitude for our lives. Unfortunately it can become a breeding ground for contempt, sarcasm, and some “charming” little comments. Soon after the initial hellos and hugs are over, the questions start rolling in… “SO, exactly, what is it you are doing for work”? “Have you made any money with your, “business” yet”? Oh, I see…“Maybe you should get a job”. Or perhaps the nit picking begins about decorations, table seating, food, and too much or not enough salt, “You should make the seafood salad just the way I do”. “Oh, is that what you will be wearing”? “Don’t you think you should wear a skirt to dinner”? It is the holidays after all. Hello??!! Please keep your opinions to yourself, for your own safetyJ.

Why do some say whatever they want, without any regard for your feelings, and do not expect to receive an adverse reaction back? You should just stand there and take it, Little Ms. Lemming, fall in line…I think not. They open their mouths and insert, foot, leg and sometimes the whole body. Those type of comments stem from their own fears and inadequacies. Somehow wishful expectations of change each year never seem to happen. This year I am here to tell you it will be different. You can have an amazing holiday season with your friends and family. It is up to you and your choices that will determine the outcome.

OK, so you are just about to blow a gasket, what do you do?

Decide not to let anyone get under your skin. Button pressers will continue until you are seeing blood red, Toro, Toro, Toro! Playing into this only accomplishes massive indigestion and heartache after eating all that delicious food, so not worth it.
Take a step back before responding. Think about where this is coming from. Feel your emotions, do not resist them. Channel them into a constructive response that resonates from within you. In retrospect you will not be kicking yourself due to your erratically explosive emotional response.
If there is someone whose behavior is totally unacceptable, let them know that you will no longer tolerate it. You can accomplish so much more by speaking from a place of calmness, a place of truth and confidence, which will be more respected and listened to than the screaming matches that might transpire if you lose tempers. When people realize that they cannot provoke you, the situation starts to change.
Remember that this is a time for all to enjoy. Be grateful you are alive and with cherished loved ones. Drama is just that, drama, and some people are stuck on stupid when it comes to it. Humbly show them how you can choose to act this holiday season. It can be a fabulous time where you are honestly engaged in intelligent conversation with each other, creating magnificent memories, or you can choose adverse reactions to negativity and replay the drama in your mind.

Which will it be for you? Have a Healthy Happy and Safe Holiday Season.

Please share your comments I would love to hear them.