Goal for the Day: Avoid the Holiday Jitters

A lot of you who read Stalking the Belle Époque, live in England, France, Germany, Italy and other places, but here in the United States, next week, the unofficial “official” start of the Holiday season begins with Thanksgiving. After that, it’s typically a mad dash toward Christmas, Hanukah (and whatever other holidays one chooses to observe). What we tend to forget is that these occasions are really best spent enjoying our family and friends and being grateful for what we have in our lives.


Many people tend to become engulfed in some kind of “Holiday Mania.” The holidays aren’t a time to become nervous or feel pressure, they’re a time to rejoice and be comfortable. Your Christmas decorations don’t have to rival your neighbors’. You don’t have to have unspoken contests about who gives the bigger and better gifts. You don’t need to hurt yourself trying to make the occasion special when it’s special all by itself.

Human beings are competitive by nature. We’re also greedy. Some of us are greedy about what we get, others of us are greedy about what we give. Let’s just all remember that this is a season where the greatest achievements are peace and kindness. Those are two gifts we should remember to give all year long.