It happens every year. The holiday season tries to stretch itself out a little bit more each year. Don’t get me wrong, give me some Hallmark and a cocoa because this girl loves Christmas.
What I don’t really love though is when Christmas starts to take away the magic of the rest of the year. I’m not one to get mad at Hobby Lobby Christmas in July because I’m all for shopping for handmade projects, but I am not one who enjoys a full Christmas tree in my living room while I’m handing out Halloween candy.
To each their own but as I’ve gotten older (mid forties now, ahem) I’ve realized the importance of not wishing the time away, wanting the next big thing to happen. I am enjoying the here and now and relishing these things to fully live life in the present.
Here are six ways I make sure to live life fully in the season I am in:
Name the Day
Each day I tell myself the date. “Today is October 20th and it’s going to be a great day.” Doing so helps me to remind myself that this is the only one of these October 20ths I will get and I’d better make it count. It helps me to stay away from those times when the days run together and suddenly you’ve jumped from the 5th to the 25th and didn’t even realize what day it was.
Take 5 Minutes
We all have hobbies and so many times we think we don’t have time for them. I get it! What I have started doing though is to set the timer on my phone for five minutes and work on my hobby. Even if it’s something I only get to do one time a day, I get a chance to work on something that is special to me. It’s always amazing to me how much I can get done in the five minutes and I really can disconnect from stress and relax. Try it! You’ll be amazed how great you feel after the five minutes.
Five Senses
This is something my therapist taught me to do. When we can notice things with all of our senses it helps us to feel grounded and helps to calm us. I think it also helps us to remember more. Think of it…there’s something very different between standing inside, looking out the window and going outside and thinking “I can hear the wind rustling the leaves on the ground, I can smell a fire being burned somewhere, I can feel the cold leaf in my hand, I can see the light dance through the leaves…” There’s something about the second option.
Be Just a Little Extra
You don’t have to buy all of the things. You don’t have to have every new gadget, that’s not what I’m promoting here. But what I am suggesting is that every once in a while you treat yourself to something that makes you feel a bit over the top. A bit fancy. For me? I bought this salted maple cold foam from Trader Joes. Each morning I would make my coffee like I do every morning. But when I had that I would give it a spray onto my coffee. Nothing over the top but it made me feel so happy. I don’t know why exactly. But that is what I’m talking about. Look for those little things that will joux up your day and for God’s sake, do those things.
Be Intentional When it Comes to the Season
Each year I’ve seen those “Movies to watch in the fall” lists and each year I think, some time I’m going to watch those. Except this year. This year we’ve actually done it. Each Friday night we have pizza (homemade, frozen, or restaurant, depending what works that week), and each Friday we’ve set to actually watching one of those movies. Hocus Pocus, The ‘Burbs, Dial M for Murder…we’ve made it though some classics we normally talk about watching but never do. And it’s been so nice during the week to know that I have a cozy night at home to look forward to at the end of a long week.
Brain Dump
When things come into your mind for the upcoming seasons, write them down in a collective list. Weekly I try to go through the list and add them to the master calendar in bite size pieces or one big project.
This week I thought of the Christmas garlands that go around our porch. Each year we wait until the last minute and there are either a million more important things to do or it’s too frigid outside to stand outside hanging lights. So this year I put it on the list and then added it to the calendar to hang the lights the first week of November.
For us magic makers, enjoying the here and now is the secret to practice gratitude for what we have. It also gives us inspiration and helps us to not get burned out when the upcoming seasons approach because we haven’t been planning for them in a way that has caused us undo stress and anxiety.
Here’s to the season we’re in now! Cheers!
