How to start embracing new holiday traditions
Hello beautiful soul! With Easter just past us, I was thinking about how many of us no longer celebrate holidays traditionally. Death, divorce, family division, geography, or a combination of these changes the world as we know it. Big stuff that also changes how we celebrate important days. This has become new ground for many. First we have to go through the letting go of what we thought was the “right” way to celebrate the holidays. That perfect picture in our heads of the perfect family gathering....oh, you know what I mean. Maybe that holiday picture occurred in our lives previously or maybe just in the movies, but either way it creates a sense of loss. It leaves us feeling like we aren’t getting the whole experience or our life is missing something.
How many Easters (or other holidays) have you mourned the loss? Or mourned the fact that your family wasn’t perfect? Ugh, I’ve been there too. Whatever the number, its time to create new memories. The years of waiting for everything to be “perfect” again are years you can’t get back. You know by now that I am not judging you. I have experienced all of the above. Ugh again. Finally waking up and embracing your own perfectly imperfect, beautiful, quirky life is amazing! No egg hunts? Now you have time to do a brunch or take a walk or hike in the foothills. No family dinner or the dinner was the weekend before? Oh, then maybe even do a little weekend getaway.
This year my husband and I spent the day in Santa Fe. Are you ready for this? The Santa Fe Plaza was absolutely filled with people! Shocking, I know. There were vendors set up selling art and jewelry and most of the shops were open. We shopped and people watched and talked and had brunch at a restaurant with a cozy patio. The patio was filled with people who were sipping mimosas and munching happily on huevos rancheros on a sunny afternoon. I think it was one of the best “alternative” Easter Sundays I have experienced.
Finally letting go of the picture in your head is actually quite liberating. Imagine opening yourself to new experiences. Imagine allowing yourself to enjoy something without that picture of the past blurring your vision. My wish for you is freedom. My wish for you is to embrace change or at least start with the idea of it. The possibilities are endless!