What Are You Looking Forward To?

Thanksgiving is almost here. And that means the other 2 big holidays in December are around the corner.

For many of us, there’s one more certainty looming as well. Depression has likely begun creeping its way forward like it almost always does for millions of us this time of year. When Daylight Savings Time starts and we find we’re getting less daylight, depression gets a foothold in our daily lives. And as The Holidays get closer, so too do the feelings of anxiousness and stress and the sense that we may not be able to keep up with all we have to do to prepare for everything.

For those of us who are perfectionists (or were raised that way but have tried to reform ourselves), this is one of the toughest times of year. There’s all the cleaning to do, the need to clear out all the accumulated “stuff” and the need to make our homes look like a scene from Architectural Digest for our expected company. And for those of us who aren’t planning to host a holiday gathering, there’s the increasing sense of aloneness, of sadness, even in-creeping despair about it all.

So I ask you: “What are you looking forward to?”

In the face of the negative that for many of us has become an all too familiar tradition, I suggest that there’s an alternative to embrace, one that’s more positive, that’s more enlivening, even more uplifting to have during this time of year. Let me tell you what I mean.