Saturday Sabbath
Practices for Holiday Blues
Last week's Saturday Sabbath invited us all to contemplate practices for heading off the holiday blues. (CLICK HERE to go back and review.) This week, you are invited to share what your chosen practice will be through the season. While we cannot prevent the holiday blues, we can make personal plans and then support one another as a congregation through this season.
Fill out the survey below, select the one or the many that you will practice. Starting on December 1, we will keep a tally of our collective practices.
And then, spend this Saturday Sabbath getting started!
Fill out the survey below, select the one or the many that you will practice. Starting on December 1, we will keep a tally of our collective practices.
And then, spend this Saturday Sabbath getting started!
(...in case you forgot...)
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Limit alcohol consumption
While myths about the medicinal value of alcohol abound, it is a fact that alcohol is a depressant. It will not help you avoid unpleasant feelings or painful memories, but talking about them with someone you trust can help you through. Cutting back on drinks and reaching out to others is a means to heading off the holiday blues. |
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Reach out
A misconception exists that sharing the holiday blues with another person spoils the holidays for them. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The holiday blues are not contagious. If anything, feeling heard, understood, and connected catches when people reach out and make a call, not the reverse. |
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Exercise
While the new year most often brings an increase in exercise, initiating a new routine through the holiday season has two benefits: it helps to hold off the holiday blues and is more likely to become an annual routine. Think of exercise as the healthiest gift you can give yourself this year. |
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Set limits
At BUU we call setting limits sharing the "holy no." Setting limits on your time and energy is always a good practice - it is holy because it makes your desires clear while creating the opportunity for someone else to join in. With the time and energy you do not expend outward, you can focus inward and listen what is in your heart through the holidays. |
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Be realistic
We all have to face that this year's holiday season is going to be different. There is much that we will miss and grieve through this time. No holiday will be the same or even approach past perfection. Letting go of what the holidays should be, invites us to welcome them for what they are. |
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Come up with your own practice
These suggestions are far from exhaustive. There are many other ways to hold off the holiday blues, make art, journal, invent a dance, write song, etc. These are meant to be the tip of the iceberg and get you thinking about what more there is for you to discover. |