Happy Sunday! Here we are right in the holiday season. I hope you are making the best out of it as I am trying to do. I am someone that most years lets Christmas stress me out. Once the childhood innocence of Christmas is lost and you are responsible for making sure some things get done a little of the magic is lost (or a lot depending on the person). This year, however I am not allowing that to happen. This year I am not letting the holidays stress me out and I encourage you to do the same. This year has been stressful enough for all of us, we shouldn't let one of the most joyous and beautiful times of the year also be that way. That brings me to today's topic. I want to go back to talking about emotions, but I also wanted to go into self-care a bit more after last week's so I am going to rope those into one.

Happiness is such a complex emotion. We genuinely can feel happy in so many different ways. Sometimes just seeing a puppy in the car next to me when I am driving home from work makes me smile, but happiness can be found in much bigger packages as well. Weddings, new babies, proposals, etc. are all big events in your life that spark great amounts of happiness. Happiness truly is a big part of live that equates to a full and well lived life. Now sometimes it also isn't all that easy to acquire. If you are not particularly happy at this moment in time that is perfectly okay too. We as humans are meant to feel all different emotions, and if we only ever felt happy, it surely would lose its luster to some extent. We appreciate the highs so much more because we also experience the lows. 

So what if you are not feeling happy? My biggest piece of advice, just as it was last week, is to make yourself a priority. It is so easy to take care of other people that you love and always worry about them that you do not take two seconds to check in with yourself and your mental health. Try to make happiness a priority. Trust me I get how easy it is to get frustrated and let that spoil your mood. I finished up my Christmas shopping this past Friday and let me tell you people (as expected) were acting like maniacs this time of year. It took everything in my not to get frustrated but I powered through, got my shopping done, and now I can relax. Plus that bad mood is almost always fixed for me by putting on the song "Linus and Lucy" from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and picturing all the little dances the characters do while I listen to it. That sounds so silly but whatever works right?

Check in with yourself and see how you are doing. Ask yourself when the last time you genuinely smiled was. Just as I suggested last week to do things for yourself, the same thing can be said this week. If you are feeling a bit down, do something that will spark joy in yourself. Watch an old holiday special you loved as a kid. Bake some cookies with your mom or your kids. Sometimes even giving to others is enough to make us happy as well. If it is in your budget and you can buy a toy to toss into the Toys for Tots bin do it. Take an angel off of your Church's charity tree and purchase the gift. Leave a plate of cookies on your neighbor's house that may live alone and has been alone most of this year because of social distancing. Sometimes all we need to do to smile is make someone else smile. But don't be afraid to be a little selfish as well and care for yourself.

This is such a lovely time of year so let's all do our best to enjoy it. I think we all could use a mental health break from the media, politics, current events, etc. Now of course stay informed and keep doing your part to not spread the virus in this pandemic, but I think everyone deserves to spend the next few weeks as oblivious to all the pain and suffering that has occurred throughout this year as possible. There is a way to do so without being insensitive of the loss others (or even you yourself) have suffered this year. Keep looking forward at the light at the end of the tunnel. Look toward the North Star, or better yet the star on the top of your Christmas tree, as a symbol to keep leading and pushing forward. The human race as a whole has been through a tremendously difficult year, so I think it is fair to take the last few weeks of said year to move forward and still enjoy the joyous time of year. Hang in there, keep looking ahead, and take some time to make yourself a priority and make your happiness a priority.