The holidays are a notoriously stressful time of year – the shopping and decorating, the cooking and baking, the socializing and entertaining.

It’s a lot, but every year I look forward to it and I try to do it all.

Feeling overwhelmed?

Like most people, I have my moments of feeling overwhelmed.  And like many others, I have twinges of guilt over once again being seduced into the commercialism of what is meant to be a spirit- filled season of birth and new beginnings.

This year, however, the limitations of my body have forced me to rethink the way I approach the holidays.

As much as I want to “do it all,” and as much as I’ve been able to in the past, my almost 6-months pregnant body simply won’t allow it.  She says, “Yeah right, hon, you may think you are going to do a marathon cookie-baking session, spend long Sunday afternoons looking for the perfect gift for mom and grandma Sanders, or write a Christmas card to every person you ever met, but you just wait and see!”

I tried, anyway, but quickly discovered that my body wasn’t kidding. It wanted rest.  After thirty minutes fluttering around the kitchen, I needed a break.  After an hour of maneuvering through crowds at Macy’s, I needed a break.  After twenty minutes of searching for addresses, stamps and just the right words, I needed a break.

And so last weekend I surrendered my lofty vision of doing it all perfectly and settled for something else - meaning.

The meaning of the holiday season

I began asking myself, what is the meaning of these holiday traditions?  Why do I decorate a tree, light candles, write cards, give gifts, and cook special meals?  What is the true intention behind these activities?
And then I asked myself, how can I embrace the true meaning of these traditions without sacrificing my physical body (which is doing important work of its own, after all!)?  What would it look like if I let go of my ego-based superwoman and allowed myself to surrender, accept help, and do less?

Want to know what I’m discovering?

I’m discovering that with the help of family and friends, and minus a few dozen cookies, it may be my most spirit-filled holiday to date, and that sounds just perfect to me!

Here’s to doing less and connecting to your true meaning of the season!