WHAT IS THE RUSH?
CREATING MORE MEANING IN THE HOLIDAYS
I am not one to rant, but I have to express my displeasure with what I have been seeing over and over again the last week!
I have been seeing Christmas stuff! I saw a Christmascommercial on the tv. I really am not a Scrooge but why the rush?
Is it because retailers fear we, the consumers will forget?
Maybe it is more likely that greed has really become the name of the game? How can the retailer make the most money off of this religious holiday?
I have enjoyed seeing the number of retailers who have said NO to being open on Thanksgiving and some even said NO to Black Friday! Here is the list of stores saying NO to being open to Thanksgiving by giving acknowledgement this holiday should be spent with family and friends:
Ace Hardware
Barnes & Noble
Patagonia
Dillard's
Crate and Barrel
Neiman Marcus
GameStop
Nordstrom
Bed Bath & Beyond
Burlington Coat Factory
REI
TJ Maxx
Marshalls
Costco
Home Depot
Staples
THIS IS IMPRESSIVE!!! Not only that, REI is giving their employees Black Friday off as well with PAY! This is completely AMAZING, who wouldn't want to work there? The company's stipulation is that the employees spend the time outdoors. That is brilliant considering most of us will over eat over the Thanksgiving holiday!!
I would like to see the Christmas music, decorations and commercials on television wait until black Friday at the earliest! How about you?? Is there really any harm in a later start?
It's really no wonder many people have trouble living in the moment and being present, the world is constantly trying to get us to move on to the next thing when we haven't experienced the first thing. It is easy to get sucked in. If you have noticed you have trouble being in the moment because you are constantly on to the next thing in your mind, it might be good to RETRAIN!! Yep, this will take a little self-discipline. I went through this myself, I call it the HERE and NOW approach. It requires you to S-L-O-W down and just enjoy yourself at this very moment without runnning off to 5 minutes from now or 2 days from now. The world is so busy that we have totally lost sight of being present. It makes a world of difference and allows you to enjoy each experience for the gift that it truly is.
This is the perfect time of year to practice this because it can get out of hand with all of the busyness we get sucked into! Here is my suggestion to you on using the Here and Now approach;
1.Each day you must set aside a few minutes of absolute quiet-it will be uncomfortable the 1st couple of times but will get easier!
2. After a couple of days doing this, add journaling to the mix-write down thoughts as they pop in your head.
3. Now, you can begin practicing the art of self-discipline. This is done by YOU being consciously aware of when you are jumping ahead of the moment you are in. Give yourself permission to BE right now and each moment. Stop rushing and enjoy the moment .You might be missing some really great moments by running ahead.
What I noticed is that time seemed to slow down and there was more meaning in what I was doing at that very moment. I was no longer yelling at my children to "hurry up" which allowed our family to relax and engage more with each other. That was my gift to myself and my family.
