Thanksgiving - the season of "mandated joy".
When a loved one has died, is dying, is in ill-health, estranged or living elsewhere, Thanksgiving can bring sadness. When feeling emotions other than gratitude and thankfulness, it is easy to feel alienated from others and this time of year. We live in a society that is focused on being "blessed and joyful", but this is not the reality of life. Life is both happy/sad, easy/difficult, joy/grief. To speak about emotions, is hard. Not everyone wants to hear about true feelings. Sitting with the duality of feelings is uncomfortable. Very few can witness and be with another grief/sadness. Remember that it is ok to - Honor your emotions Not want to celebrate the holiday Be open, and honest, about how you feel Set boundaries with others about what you can do/not do To take care of yourself this Thanksgiving - Create new traditions Share emotions with kids/grandkids Embrace the duality of emotions that appear Not over-schedule yourself into false happiness If you attend Thanksgiving, have a game plan and exit strategy Grief is a natural, and normal, emotion. There is no right or wrong way to experience it. It has no clear direction, nor an ending point. It deserves to be honored, by you.
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