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When we come together with our families of origin for the holidays, we can find ourselves triggered. Old wounds can open up, and we may find ourselves reacting instead of responding.
Even if it’s never happened before, you can have peace for the holidays. You can be present, communicate with family and have a happy holiday (and rest of the year).
Everything Unlike Love
In most cases, there is love present in families. And where there is love, everything unlike love comes up. That means every holiday may feel the same to you, with freeze/flight/fight responses, old feelings of hurt or neglect, feelings of not being good enough…anger, annoyance or arguments.
In many ways, we revert back to our childhood selves when we’re with our families of origin. But, instead of reacting, you can choose to heal those wounds that open up in safe, loving environments.
Or, if your family environment doesn’t feel safe, you can reside in the loving environment that you take everywhere with you: Your own heart.
Peace for the Holidays Starts with You
If you know me, you know I’m big on personal responsibility. You are not responsible for others’ feelings or reactions; however, you are responsible for your own thoughts, beliefs and actions.
When you start with YOU, then fewer things will affect you. You can carry a figurative mirror into family gatherings and deflect all things away from you and toward the divine light. Perhaps you can respond rather than react. You can take time to observe, see others as innocent (just like you), tell your truth with compassion and so much more. Your family members will see all these things and may even mimic your behavior.
You cannot control everything that happens around you, but you can maintain a sense of peace for the holidays by changing how you react to it all.
Find Peace for the Holidays in this Podcast
Even if the holidays have already passed, you can use the tools I’m sharing in this podcast in everyday interactions with friends, family, coworkers and strangers. You can work on healing those things that are triggering reactions within you, and you can practice responding with compassion and personal responsbility.
Maybe the holidays don’t have to be as difficult as we’ve made them out to be. Maybe we can spend time with family and not lose ourselves. And maybe…just maybe…you can learn to communicate with family in a way that leaves you with autonomy, inner peace and a smile in your heart.
Are you interested in learning how to trust, how to escape dramatic cycles, how to respect yourself and other fundamentals of successful, fulfilling relationships? Then Essence of Relationships is for you. Visit the page to learn more and get your freebies today!
