Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas to everyone. From my family to yours, we wish you a truly  happy holiday season. May it be filled with good times spent with your family and friends. And may your new year bring you happiness, good health and prosperity.
Christmas is a wonderful time. We get to spend time with our families and enjoy some down time. Our lives become so busy we often get in the habit of not thinking about ourselves and taking care of ourselves. And unfortunately, Christmas usually is no exception. We immerse ourselves in shopping, buying gifts, keeping track of budgets (which often get overextended...) planning parties and meals, if anything Christmas piles on more stress to what we were already dealing with. For most, it doesn't bring down time. It brings more stress time. Just what we didn't need.
It's a shame, it really is. Around this time of year people and companies who sell 'stuff' step up their game. Advertisements come at us from all directions and literally fill our days. And do not kid yourself, marketers are very smart people. The have perfected the art of convincing us that we need what they are making. Think about this for a moment, how much stuff have you bought that you really could do without? Ask yourself this question for everything you have that cost more than fifty dollars, did I need that or did I merely want it? Now there's nothing wrong with having something for no other reason than you wanted it. By golly if you work hard and want something just for the fun of it then by all means you should have it. The problem is, it adds up. We accumulate. And we saturate ourselves with stuff. The fact is most of it we didn't need and could easily have lived without it.

So take some time to reflect after Christmas. Look back on the year and think about what you can do to make next year better. What can you do to make life better? What can you do to make YOU better? Maybe some of that 'stuff' you got that you really don't need (or want), give it away. Donate it to charity so someone less fortunate can enjoy it. I promise you'll feel good about it. And do some other things that make you feel good. Exercise. Lay in the sun. Take deep breaths with your eyes closed. Take up yoga. Tell your spouse you love them, every day. Meditate.
The cost of all those things and others like them? Nothing. The benefit? They all have the potential to make you a better, happier person. What better gift could you possibly give yourself?