Here we are at the beginning of a holiday season like no other.  Wrapped in a pandemic, uncovering the gifts of this season will require a bit of effort, but will also offer opportunity!  In the true spirit of Wonder and Possibility, we invite you to approach the weeks ahead with curiosity.

If the holidays can’t be what we want them to be, how do we navigate that?  We like Eckhart Tolle’s advice.  In his book, The Power of Now, he writes that we have three choices when faced with an unpleasant situation.  We can:

1. Change the situation

2. Leave the situation

3. Accept the situation

Clearly we can’t change a pandemic and the restrictions it requires.  We certainly can’t run away from it physically.  (though we can occasionally take a mental break, leaving worried thoughts and turning our focus to more pleasant things)  That leaves us with simply accepting the situation.  Not an easy task, but one that has the greatest potential to bring us gifts we might not be anticipating.

Accepting that we won’t be celebrating in traditional fashion is hard.  We’ll all miss the joy of gathering with family and friends to share gifts, laughter and great food.  These are often what we look forward to the most!  But if this year must be celebrated differently, the sooner we accept that, the sooner we can begin to relax and open ourselves to new possibilities.

It seems likely that if we’re not caught up in the hustle and bustle of preparing for the cookie exchanges, neighborhood open houses, and holiday family gatherings, we might in fact have less stress and a bit more time to spend as we please.  Maybe this gift of time is exactly what we need right now. Time to slow down, to take a deep breath.  Maybe after nearly a year of uncertainty and loss, we all need a chance to rest a bit.  Could this pared down version of holiday merrymaking be a gift in itself?

Perhaps we’re being given the time to discover the highlights of the season in new ways.

Even if our celebrations must change, the traditional “gifts of the season”  –  joy, love, compassion and hope – remain available to us. Can we find new ways to experience and share these gifts?  Better still, can we amplify some of those gifts?  The word amplify means “to make larger, greater, or stronger; enlarge; extend.”  What might that look and feel like?

For me (Barb), amplifying JOY can be having a dance party in my kitchen with my daughter while FaceTiming with a distant family friend.  Or it could be singing holiday songs at the top of my lungs in the car, where there is no one to critique my singing voice.  Now that is amplification!

Maybe it is amplifying HOPE when talking to a socially distant neighbor or friend about the possibility of vaccines and finding some light at the end of the tunnel.

Or amplifying LOVE with more one-on-one FaceTime calls where real conversation happens instead of the smalltalk that seems to occur when we have a house full of people.  Or smiling with our eyes despite the masks and with words of kindness and compassion when opportunities arise.

This holiday season will be unique. If we can accept that, relax into creating new expressions of love, joy, compassion, and hope, we open ourselves to experiencing the deeper meaning of the season that may have been previously covered in tinsel and icing.

The gifts of the season are within reach. We have a unique opportunity to amplify them, raising not only our own vibration, but radiating it to others as well. If each of us would unwrap just one gift of this pandemic holiday season and amplify it, what wonderful possibilities might come to pass?

Wishing you a season filled with Wonder and Possibility,

Barb and Mary