For the past few days my social media feed has been filled with mostly food related posts. I see glass jars with homemade food and perfect wrappings. Hundreds and literally hundreds of meatballs in the making. But also christmas trees with mountains of presents underneath. Today on christmas eve I expect to see pictures of alcoholic beverages, because drinking alcohol and christmas for many people seem to be connected.

I’m a huge fan of people living their lives according to what feels right for them. However I cannot help but wonder: how much stress is involved in wrapping these glass jars, forming meatballs and the shopping of christmas presents? How many people are drinking alcohol today because they feel the need to take the edge off ?

Stronger than ever before, this year my family and I felt the need to do the christmas stuff differently. So today is a day for just the four of us. The teenagers picked the food they liked, so pizza it is tonight. We also decided to skip the traditional Swedish Kalle Anka TV and watch all christmas episodes of Friends instead while eating tons of chocolate. The kids will each get two presents and none for us adults because if there is something we don’t need, it’s more stuff. And alcohol? Nah, somehow both my husband and I haven’t felt like drinking for quite some time and I don’t expect that to change just because it’s christmas eve today.

This is a christmas celebration that fits my family this year. Our extended family has reacted in a great way to this; thankfully they understand that us wanting to spend christmas eve alone this year does not mean that we do not love them. It just means that we take ownership of how we feel and right now the four of us need a break after a pretty hectic autumn.

I notice that magic happens every time I start with awareness and choose to act from that space inside me instead of following the musts that Lennart (the voice of my mind) tries to put on me. It makes me feel free and alive. So this is my wish for you who is reading this: I wish you freedom from your Lennart and the feeling of being truly alive ♥

Merry Christmas!

Photo: Vita Marija Murenaite – unsplash.com