Avoiding the Holiday Blues, by Jonah BaileyJonah Bailey - 4 Dec 2006
For many of us, the Christmas holidays mean that we have a bit more downtime than we would normally. A life that is extremely hectic and full of social engagements can suddenly have a few free moments of uncommitted time. You might be traveling a long distance this year to visit family, friends or loved ones. You might be returning to your family home from University and looking forward to a good chunk of time with family. It might not be an idle time, to be sure, but at least a step down from manic student life!
What are you going to do with that extra time this year? In my life, I've had two extremes that I tend to go to. On the one hand, I tend to pack the empty time slots with loads of social visits, family activities and shopping trips. There have been times in the past when I was packing my bags after New Year's to head home after being with my family when I thought, "Man, I need a vacation from this vacation!" The other extreme isn't really that much better. A typical day of holiday slothfulness goes something like this: I get up late, have breakfast, sit in front of the TV, snack, play PS2 (don't I wish that Santa Claus would bring me a PS3 this Christmas!!!) because whatever is on TV is boring, watch a movie, scrape something together for lunch, possibly shower and get dressed, back to the sofa for a bit more snacking, watch some sport on the TV, eat dinner with the family, watch the second movie of the day, bit more PS2 and then channel surfing until 3am. Not that there is anything terrible about spending a day during the holidays in either of those two ways. I'd imagine that for a lot of us, the holidays will probably involve a bit of both of those scenarios. The odds are that there are a lot more balanced people out there than I am! I mean, I am the only one around here who lets day turn into day turn into day and thus loses control of my whole vacation, right? RIGHT?
Manic-ness and slothfulness can bring about a case of the "Holiday Blues". Instead of the holidays being a time in which we can rejoice in the miracle of Christ's incarnation, marvel at the beauty of the Nativity story, prepare ourselves for the year to come and enjoy relationship with family and friends; this time of year can be bleak and depressing. I want to challenge us all to do a little something different this year. Instead of letting life happen to us over the next month, let's be marginally purposeful (marginally because we are talking about the holidays, right?) and actively look for ways to rest, recuperate and ready ourselves for the New Year.
I've had a think and here are a few practical suggestions on how we can engage in activities this holiday season that refresh our souls, our spirits and our bodies:
1. Take an hour one morning and look over the last year. What are your highlights? What have you planned and accomplished? What went really well? What were the challenges? What areas do you see in your life that you need to cultivate growth and maturity? Jot down some notes and spend a bit of time chatting with God about your year. If you have a partner/spouse, this is a great exercise to do with them too.
2. If you are returning to your childhood home, take some time to look through old photo albums and relive a few memories with the family.
3. Get outdoors! Even if it is cold, a brisk walk in the snow is great for your body, soul and spirit. Invite someone to walk with you. Some of life's greatest conversations happen on walks.
4. That portable media player you got for Christmas can be a great ally to avoiding the holiday blues. Take time to discover some new podcasts that enrich soul and spirit. I use iTunes to manage my podcasts and I've compiled a quick list of a couple of the podcasts currently on my iPod that have added a lot to my life lately:
Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University, is the founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, an organization that develops schools and social programs in various third world countries and in cities across North America. In his podcast, he discusses current events for under half an hour.
Mars Hill Bible Church Podcast
Rob Bell is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, one of the fastest growing churches in American history. Rob mixes good humour and biblical scholarship to deliver impacting and memorable messages on this podcast.
Entertaining and poignant slices of American Life from Chicago Public Radio. So good people used to pay to listen. Now they give away a program a week for free.
Jamie Oliver PodcastListen to this podcast and all your excuses for eating those prepared microwave dinners will be forever ruined. But look at it this way: You'll be healthier, happier and more popular because you actually know how to cook a good meal!
Even if I have 30 minutes of travel between me and my destination, podcasts enable me to use that time to be informed and inspired.
5. Instead of making New Year's resolutions that you and I both know you aren't going to keep, set yourself some goals for the coming year. Try picking things that you can work toward on a consistent basis rather than resolving to not do something that you might blow in one moment of weakness. Also pick things that you can actually measure and know if you are doing them or not. For example, "Getting in Shape" isn't the greatest goal. How do you know when you're in shape? Why not set yourself a goal of taking up a new sport and practicing it twice a week? Or, for the more ambitious among us, start training for that marathon you'd like to run next September. You're on your own on that one.
Let's hope that both you and I can use this year's holiday season to do more than be a hyperactive social butterfly or, let's face it, a lazy bum. Let's use those small bits of time to prepare ourselves for another year of Jesus-following in this wild and crazy world.
Photo for title image and article thumbnail provided by Andy Lock.
