Human Connection this Holiday Season

It’s been a hot second. Can you believe it’s 12/1! So, I know that I mentioned November was one of my FAVORITE months in my Newvember blog…but, in all reality, December may be my numero uno. I mean, who can deny the glory of 24/7 Christmas music on every adult contemporary station? Or 25 Days of Christmas? I get the warm fuzzies thinking about it.  Not to mention, I start the month off with my anniversary and I end it with my birthday! Throw in some Christmas shenanigans with the family, dressing Charlie the dog up as Santa Clause, and the official return of oversized sweaters, leggings and boots…and well, you have one heck of a holiday season!

As we head into “the most wonderful time of the year,” I want to touch on something that really got me thinking in November and I think it translates over into December. During November, I started a challenge through which I shared something I was grateful for every day. By doing this, I reminded myself of all things I’m grateful for….publicly.  The crazy thing is, as I was going through this, I realized that I spend every day in gratitude and maybe I don’t do enough to show that. Sure, I get caught up in all these “oh no”  and “woe is me” situations, but I am always grateful for the people and the moments that I have been blessed with, including those struggle bus times because they’ve silently built my character. Needless to say, I’m going through this challenge,  and posting…and then… In the middle of my challenge, I travelled home for Thanksgiving, and I  stopped posting. WHAT CHRISTINA? You didn’t finish it?!? Well, I did..in a way. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a gratitude journal I’ve been keeping for quite some time to remind myself of the wonderful things I had going on my life. So, I pretty much have the reminder thing nailed down. But I took the opportunity to step away from social media (well…seriously cut back) and just enjoy the time I had with my family and friends. In the real world. In real time. And it felt…awesome. I mean, these people (along with quite a few others) are the crux of all that I’m grateful for, right? 

 One of the major components covered in my health coach certification program is the importance of relationships for your overall health. IT MAKES SENSE. Think about how much better you feel when your relationships are healthy, open, and mutually beneficial. So instead of grabbing my phone and documenting all the food, fun, and football..I put zee wellness insta down (most of the time) and listened, engaged with, and laughed with those around me. I had meaningful conversations with my Grammy about her wedding day, as we went through a beautiful wedding scrapbook my mother-in-law put together for Matt and I. I went shopping with my momma (not sure who enjoyed that more?!). I cut a Christmas Tree down with my dad, sister, brother-in-law, and hubby ( side note: I also learned how to start a viable Christmas tree farm in case anyone wants a few pointers). I caught up on the lives of all our family and friends that we don’t get to see very often. In all of these moments, it felt like I was in one big gratitude bubble. We all were so grateful to be spending time with one another. We often take those we love for granted. And it’s only in times of sadness or loss that we remind ourselves of this. During this holiday season..instead of focusing on gifts to buy, what casserole you’re going to make, your maximum number of cocktails at the company Christmas party or how many hours you’re going to spend driving to all your destinations..I challenge you to focus your gratitude muscles on human connection, giving back, and enjoying the merriment of the season in all it’s glory.

So how can you flex that muscle in the gratitude and human connection department?

1. Call up a relative or friend that you haven’t talked to in a while. Maybe it’s a grandparent, sibling, cousin, or random old  co-worker that you haven’t seen in awhile. Not a phone person? Same. Write a letter (yes, pen and paper still exists), send an email, shoot a text message, or even reach out via social media to a different person each week. I encourage you to do this specifically if there’s someone you’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Maybe it’s a chance to make amends or rekindle a friendship.  It can be scary, I know. But honestly, what’s the worst that can happen? A de-friending? Oh, darn.
2. Feel like you’re already an A+ communicator?  Doubt it.  But in the event that you are, take your chatty cathy nature and take it to the next level. Set a goal each day to MEANINGFULLY compliment someone. Maybe it’s a co-worker. Maybe it’s your spouse, child, parent, or bestie. Maybe it’s the cool-as-hell Starbucks guy that always knows your order…complimenting someone is one of the best ways to show some gratitude. Put some effort into it too. No one wants a half a** compliment. 
3. Give back to those in need: Seek out ways within your local community that you can help out. There are a lot of families out there that aren’t blessed to indulge in those holiday jujus. You can do anything from giving gifts to giving blood. Be the person you’d need if you were in trouble. As a quick side note, when you’re doing your holiday shopping, consider purchasing from organizations that donate proceeds to different causes. One that I specifically love, is Love Your Melon which donates 50% of it’s proceeds to the fight against pediatric cancer. 

 This is an uncharacteristically short blog, but I felt this overwhelming urge to share my thoughts. My girl Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Let that marinate for a minute.  Until next time fam, 

Christina