End & Start of Year

From Festive Fervour to Fresh Starts

I am always amused when someone asks, ‘What are your plans for Christmas?” …in September. We spend so long arranging Christmas, and then it’s over in the blink of an eye! We look forward to the end of the year, and the months fly by so quickly. Here we are again, almost at Christmas, and soon it will be another New Year.

This Christmas will come and go. Take time to rest and relax despite the festive busyness. Amidst the clinking of glasses, vegetable peeling, cream whipping or the chorus of carols, try to make the time to breathe deeply and ground yourself in the present moment. Take off your socks, walk on grass or travel to the beach, walk barefoot on the sand and feel the sea on your feet. You can only be in the present moment when the Irish sea is on your skin!

Christmas does not have to be centred around spending money. Embrace the joy of giving and receiving homemade gifts – the love infused in them outweighs shop-purchased products. Give something you have lovingly made, baked, or created, e.g., a card or cake, a painting, or a Spotify playlist. The list of homemade presents you can create and gift is endless. Send loving kindness and thoughts of health and vitality to people you may not have seen in a while – why not post a card, email, or phone and arrange to reconnect (while you have the chance).

After Christmas, when the decorations and the house are cleared and your guests have departed, sit with the silence and let gratitude fill the space where laughter and conversations recently lingered. Make time to pause, rest, and reflect. Post-Christmas days allow the potential for personal insight. If you’re feeling sad or lonely, it can signify the wonderful time you’ve had or ‘post-holiday melancholy’. Take comfort in knowing you’ve enjoyed yourself.

If Christmas is lonely, which it is for many, remind yourself that you’re allowed to feel however you feel. Then do something that helps you improve your mood. Perhaps you might arrange to go somewhere new for a change of scenery. Rest assured that Christmas will be finished in a day so you might light a candle for people you miss, for those who cannot be with you at Christmas. Keep them in mind and reminisce on the lovely times you’ve had together (which is why you miss them).

Take time to acknowledge 2023. Make space for introspection and prepare for what lies ahead in 2024. Journal about the learning and events of 2023, parts of which you can bring into 2024, some of which perhaps you’d rather forget.

Make time for calm and reflection at the end of the year, and rather than resolutions, write your intentions for 2024. January is about taking baby steps in the right direction towards achieving your objectives for the future. How do you hope to feel, or what would you like to achieve? It might be to play the ukulele, learn a language, or understand Quantum Physics. Write the plan for achieving your intentions and mental, physical, and emotional wellness practices in 2024. Write about how you will feel when you achieve your dreams/goals/intentions.

Choose one habit you wish to cultivate in the new year and link it to an existing routine for better adherence. You might decide that relaxation will become part of your 2024 daily routine. Every time you enter the kitchen, inhale as slowly and deeply as you can through your nose. Hold that breath for a few seconds before exhaling slowly through your mouth – your relaxation habit has begun!

May you find a balance between celebration and solitude, action and reflection.

Here’s wishing you a season of serenity and a new year of living with intention.