a season of health

Photo credit: K. Krueger, 2012

Happy Friday, friends!

It feels as though it has been an eternity since my last substantial post -- though, I'll be honest, I was so grateful to take a week off and really be present during the Thanksgiving holiday.  We drove down to Phoenix and spent the most relaxing weekend with family and friends.  On Thanksgiving Day, my honey and I both unplugged from phones, computers and social media (other than phone calls to my amazing family in Seattle and New York), and it was the most beautiful blessing.  Such a freeing experience to be fully present to the moment!  Crazy enough, it was almost a culture shock to return to it all the day after!

The most beautiful part of the weekend?! (Other than fabulous family and friends, of course.)

We have "officially" entered the most wonderful time of the year!  It might seem ridiculous, it might seem cheesy... but I am a certified holiday nutcase (which should come as no surprise to most of you).  And, while I'll be honest and admit that I snuck in my fair share of Christmas tunes before the Thanksgiving holiday, I feel like I am finally free to let my Christmas-loving, winter-adoring flag fly high!  There are moments, the ones where I am twirling to Christmas music or find myself filled with childlike wonder at a holiday display, that I catch my sweetheart staring at me, eyes laughing and a huge smile across his face as he watches his love captured by the joy of the season.  Each day, when I get to return home after a day of work to light candles and curl up, basking in the light of the Christmas tree, I am filled with gratitude and warmth.  The living room is decked out in holiday joy and my sketchbook is covered with wintery and hopeful inspiration.  It's the joy that makes even the coldest days a little warmer.

But my deep love for this season inspires in me an even greater appreciation for its flip-side.  Hidden within the glittery trappings of the Christmas season, there lies a pervasive sadness, filled with consumerism, anxiety, loneliness and poverty.  For many of us, this is the most painful time of the year.  Holiday stressors - both material and emotional - cause many of us (myself included) to react in destructive ways, many of which are socially accepted during this time of year. We spend a fortune, losing ourselves in overcrowded malls trying to find the biggest, best, newest gifts. We indulge ourselves in delicious foods - hiding our stress in emotional eating. We use substances to numb our anxiety. We turn inward rather than finding connection in community. And, in my opinion, some of it is only natural. For many of us, this season, while bright and light and joyful on the outside, also contains some of our most painful memories.  Those internalized family traumas, the disappointment of unrealized hopes, the painful reality of financial and emotional strain.

This month, as the holiday triggers present themselves in very real ways, I am inspired to explore - with you by my side - how to find, maintain and thrive through emotional and physical health. 

For me, my anxiety presents itself in the desire to eat every sweet in sight (and there are so many delicious ones!), and I am only now learning how to create healthy habits to combat my desire to drown my stress in sugar.  Whether its family anxiety, financial pressure or just the sadness we can't place, there are so many ways to create healthy habits rather than allowing ourselves to be victim to destructive reactions and patterns!

What about for you?! As you look inward, where do you desire to grow this month? Share in the comments below!