Holiday Helping Hints

 Again, this holiday season can prove to be challenging for many!

- Try something new!

- Volunteer!

- Call a friend and spend time talking while sipping your favorite tea!

- If you are having depression, use the tools on the website to call for help! It is not a weakness but a strength to recognize you need help.

- Make sure you are getting enough rest!

- Write a letter to your loved one that passed!

- Make sure you are getting exercise, long walks, the gym, swim laps, ski, snowshoe, or shovel a neighbors walk!

- Bake something that will fill your home with good smells

- Try something new- be adventurous.

- Try Meditation or go to a Dharma Center for a teaching! Go to a church service!

- Put on your local public radio and listen to some of those shows or put on your favorite album and dance in your living room.

- Get your mailman a treat!

- Read a book on something that will benefit you! I am reading The Untethered Soul and it is really benefiting!

- Burn Incense and sit quietly and comfortably with your favorite pajamas.

- Build something or create something

- take some photos on a walk.

- smile and say hi to everyone you pass on a walk.

- Make sure you open your heart to those that love you and reach out! Grab a coffee with a friend, go to a hot springs for a soak, get a massage or pedicure, Go to the local animal shelter and volunteer to walk a dog, Spend time with your neighbors, and don't sit alone! Be around others! 

- Allow your feelings to come, but also watch them pass on through. Do not attach to the emotion. Feel it and release it. Do not let it drag you down. Say it out loud. I am sad and I miss you, but I am also grateful for you! I will cry, but then celebrate you because you existed!

- Laugh! You are allowed to have laughter and happiness! Watch a comedy! Write down the things your family does to drive you crazy and then read aloud with laughter.

- If your mind is talking talking talking, just quietly say "hello" over and over- which will quiet the noise in your mind and breathe!

7. Acknowledge and honor those who have passed

It can be helpful to participate in a holiday ritual in memory of someone you've lost, especially if it relates directly to his or her interests. Here are some ideas.

• Light candles.
• Talk, write about or post on social media about the person.
• Donate children's toys or books through a charity such as Toys for Tots.
• Dedicate a prayer or religious service to the loved one's memory, such as a Catholic Mass or Jewish Kaddish.
• Plant a tree in memory of the deceased, in your own yard or in a forest (through a group like the Arbor Day Foundation).
• Make a card or write a holiday letter with the person's picture.
• Place the deceased's photo or a significant item of his on your Christmas tree or among holiday decorations.