Your Presence is Your Present

The talk of Christmas markets, the sight of a robin, the scent of cinnamon and cloves, the Christmas lights on the trees through the windows, the sound of festive music, all start to let us know, like a whisper in the air that, once again, Christmas is coming.

It is a time when we can all be jumping from one thing to another, working through what seems a gigantic list of things to do and places to be, people to please, even joy to be had. Or, perhaps, getting caught up in the thoughts and emotions of festive seasons gone by or the plans and expectations of this current year or the next. For many it’s a wild mix of fun and excitement but also a lot of stress, tension, tiredness and chaotic energy. A feeling that there is so much joy and magic to be had but it is hard to quite reach it. A promise of the illusive ‘perfect’ Christmas without a moment to find or enjoy it. I also always find it quite strange how the daily worries and to-do’s of everyday life have to continue. It feels like December needs its own stop button on all of that. 

With all this going on, this season can leave us almost entirely distracted from the present moment and can create a surge of stress. From this place of stress, not only do our bodies feel tense, our minds are hectic, all our wants and needs become exaggerated yet often neglected, we start to want things a certain way, our fears can become more pronounced and emotions heightened whilst the consuming, preparing, celebrating and everything else around us seems to speed up. 

Within all this, a little care for your inner self would go a long, long way. 

Firstly, and very importantly, allow yourself to feel all that arises and send yourself kindness. 

It’s very easy to be swept up by the chaos but it can often be at the cost of your own wellbeing or that you even just miss a lot of the joys along the way. It is therefore a good idea to make time to pause. 

So I invite you to pause, come back to your senses, every one of them, or tune into your breath, let them be your anchors back into the present moment. Feel your feet, feel your hands. No matter where you are, you have ways to come back into the room, into the now. This can help allow yourself to come back to you, arrive back into the present moment – this is good both in moments of tension or stress to soothe yourself, or, to really feel the joy if you are doing something magical. 

It can be hard to see and experience things as they really are when we are not being truly present. It is easy to attach stories and ideas from past experiences, or prior thoughts and ideas or our interpretation of the future. Our reality can actually be a little clouded.

At this time of year, there can also be heightened expectations both real and perceived from others around us, near or far, and also high expectations on ourselves. Sometimes our expectations and experiences or, what we see or perceive is going on with others around us, can disconnect us. It can be nice to let go of some of these expectations and just be present, in the here and now. This can also help connect us back to this particular Christmas and feel part of the season that is right here. 

To be in the present moment, to just be where you’re at can be quite a relief. It encourages an acceptance of what is, for a moment it can be simplified. It helps avoid ploughing through this festive season, in both chaos or a trance, perhaps the days can instead be a little more special, a little more felt. And whilst you are doing this, perhaps ask yourself the question, if I was truly here, what would I want to do? How would I want to be feeling? And try and add an extra dose of whatever that is into your plans over the next few weeks. Remember, it is okay to keep it simple.

Create a little space for some things you want to be present for and then encourage your mind, body and soul to be exactly there. 

Of course, it is good to understand that this will not happen all of the time, it is not an easy thing sometimes and takes practice. Perhaps one way of helping this when we can feel ourselves getting caught up in some of the chaos, is to actually ask yourself the question, do my current thoughts have anything to do with the present moment? If not, perhaps let these go for a minute. Even if you need to jot them down if you feel they are important. Do that and then let them go and come back to the now for a minute and remind yourself that all these things won’t get left behind if you just take a moment to tune back into yourself in the present. Wherever your mind has been and wherever it may go, it is all okay but you can choose presence, again and again. When you do, notice the quality of the hereness. 

There can be a lot of giving of your energy outward at this time of year, both in thoughts and actions but don’t forget your inner life as well as your outer life. 

Enjoy the present moment with a relaxed attentiveness to what you are doing. 

Take a pause on the befores and the afters, all the happenings, joys and turmoil of December. Let the imaginary snowflakes settle around you for a moment. 

Wishing you a calm and enchanted Christmas.

xx