In this time of year, when everyone’s time deprived, sleep deprived and patience deprived, it’s important to be extra emotionally intelligent and empathic toward one another, particularly with our family. This is especially true if you don’t have the opportunity to spend much time with them during the rest of the year. Before your personalities clash, make them JINGLE instead. Simply remember and apply the following 6 tips for having one of your most peaceful Christmases ever.
Focus on your own jingle instead of focusing on that of others.
Just be present- it allows you to engage with others with a lucid and peaceful mind.
Ignore the nonsensical comments which aren’t crucial or detrimental to anyone’s soul
Never start a family fight yourself. Without assumptions, get to the root of the problem peacefully.
Give a family member a second chance if needed- we all make mistakes
Love each member of your family as much as possible and in the way they need to be loved
Embrace this Holiday Season because you never know if it’s the last one you’ll spend together
Sounds simple right? While this may be easier said than done, it’s totally possible. You already have too much self-imposed drama in your life anyway, so for just one day, give yourself and those whom you most love the gift of peace– it’ll be a priceless and memorable gift. Just like each snowflake is unique an unrepeatable, each of your family members carries their own “tune.”
While it may seem like the “tune” that each of your family members carry can’t possibly be complimentary, if each member jingles their “tune” softly, you’ll notice that the melody will be beautiful anyway.
Now It’s Your Turn to Share Your Wisdom Tokens
We can all use some tips for getting along better with the family. What are yours? Please share them below.
People say the Holidays are a stressful time of year. Have you ever stopped to wonder whether the Holidays are a stressful time for your baby? Perhaps it’s stressful for them, perhaps it isn’t. What you can know for sure is that regardless of the time of year that it is, your baby (and children in general), need love. Yep, love. So, as much as possible, and for your happiness and theirs, try to let go of the expectations for a “perfect Holiday Season” (whatever that means). That way, you’re pleasantly surprised, instead of bitterly disillusioned.
Tips for Preventing Your Baby From Crying on Santa’s Lap
Here are seven tips to help your little one meet Santa with grace.
1. Whether or not your child cries on Santa’s lap starts much sooner than their first encounter with Santa. It starts with their interaction they’ve had with you since the day they were born. Are you there for your child in the good times and bad? If you are, you’ll notice how comfortable your child probably is with people he/she comes across. And in the rare event that your child is uncomfortable with someone, as long as you’ve been there to acknowledge his/her feelings, your child’s social interactions with others is bound to be positive.
2. When random people show interest in your baby, you talk to those people in a normal manner and encourage your baby to politely engage with them. The key here is for you to strike a balance between being overly friendly and being overly dry when talking to others. The way that you interact with the world is important for your child. You are their role model for how to treat others. Most importantly (and perhaps most surprisingly), you teach your child in the most subtle, subconscious and overt ways whether the world is a dangerous place that’s out to get them, or if the world is a friendly place, that has their back. As you know, this simple belief is a strong determining factor in how successful, happy and at peace any individual, little or big is… so hopefully, you’re able to teach your children the emotional intelligence that they need.
3. Make great use of the abundance of holiday songs that you can listen to during this season. If you show enthusiasm, joy and interest in the holiday songs, characters and traditions, your child will most likely have a positive approach to Santa, and most things Christmas.
4. Whenever you’re about to meet someone new, don’t you like to know a little bit about that person? Most likely, you like to read about them or even see a picture of them. So when it comes to preparing your little one to meet Santa, what do you think works best? Holiday books, of course! Show your child pictures about Santa and read books about Santa’s adventures. This will not only put your little one more at ease about Santa, but he/she will acquire literary skills, vocabulary and metacognition about this jolly old fellow that your’e so excited for your child to meet.
5. Think about it. If you were a baby sitting in Santa’s lap for the first time, what would distract you? Most likely, it’s Santa hat and the uniform. So, while it’s unlikely that you have an all-out Santa suit in your home, you probably do have a Santa hat. Wear the Santa hat. Wear it normally and refer to it as something that is cute rather than something that is bizarre. As much as possible, in order to prevent your child from finding anything else about Santa’s attire scary, such as the beard, hair or eyes, refrain from scaring your child with anything, especially monsters. Nowadays, monsters come in so many shapes, sizes and colors that no wonder it’s easy for children to see “scary” in any random thing.
6. Plan for your child to meet Santa at the best time for your child, when he/she is well fed, clean, well groomed and well rested. When you arrive to the destination where your child is going to meet Santa, let him/her observe other children on Santa’s lap. While they’re looking at what he/she is about to experience, talk to him/her about it. You can say things like, “Look at the dress that little girl is wearing. Isn’t it beautiful?” or “Oh, look at that baby on Santa’s lap. He looks comfortable.” or “Look at Santa, he seems like a friendly person.” or “Look at that mommy, she’s taking a picture of her child.” or “I like the way that the baby smiles at mommy.” Be sure that your energy is positive, light and calm so that your child has the best opportunity to ease into this experience.
7. When the moment of truth arrives and it’s your child’s turn to sit on Santa’s lap, talk to your baby. Tell him/her “Do you want to take a photo with Santa? Let’s go sit with Santa.” Sit the baby on Santa’s lap. Encourage your baby to look at the camera in a calm, cheery manner. You can say, “Look how beautiful you look.” If your baby does look at the camera, great. If not, that’s perfectly okay. Let your baby be. Take the picture. Pick up your child from Santa’s lap. Thank Santa. Say bye to Santa. Encourage your child to say bye as well. That’s it. Let life flow and don’t dwell on whether the picture was superb or not. Your child’s happiness and stress-free interactions with the world are more important than anything at this moment. Come to think of it, if you notice carefully, you’ll see that your child’s personality came through beautifully in that photo. Cherish that personality that your child’s soul is expressing above anything else. After all, this season is meant to be among the happiest times of the year, although with a happy baby that you’re in tune with, any day can be as happy as the next. And that is what living a happy life made of.
Share your Wisdom Treasure Tokens
Do you have any tips for how to encourage a positive interaction between you and your baby? Please leave a comment below that can help our children enjoy meeting Santa and the Holiday Season in general.
What I Want For Christmas From the World and For the World This Year
Christmas, regardless of the religious or areligious meaning that you give it, is a holiday that many people anticipate. Depending on which corner of the boxing ring you stand on, you can either dread the preparations that Christmas entails OR you can’t wait for Christmas to arrive.
How much you enjoy Christmas Day or Christmas Eve is up to you, but I only have one favor to ask you and as a matter of fact, this is what I want for Christmas this year: Don’t contaminate the excitement and good cheer of people who do like Christmas with your bad spirits, in other words, your bad mood.
For many people, the day after Thanksgiving Day is more than Black Friday. It is a day when they can start decking their homes, and one would expect that it’s done with lots of “jolly.”
But, it sometimes isn’t. Why? Because there are family members that don’t like setting up the tree, for example. Yet unfortunately, they are usually the tallest people who can reach the tree’s higher altitudes. And what happens when this Scrooge gets in a bad mood? He/she ruins the first encounter with the Christmas spirit, of course. That ONE chance to have a good impression about the holiday season for that year is ruined. One year of someone in your family having this type of negative attitude can seem a coincidence and almost insignificant and even acceptable, but having the same person throw the same tantrum every year!? Really?! It gets super old! You know what the saddest thing is? That these Scrooges that dampen the joy of Christmas are not Scrooges for most of the year but they certainly wear their Scrooge costume super well on “Christmas tree setup day.” So, every year, your’e not expecting this Scrooge to appear out of nowhere with his/her bad mood, so it catches you by surprise when this “character” appears and the disillusion is even greater.
And just like in the tree-setup tradition mentioned above, I’m sure you can think of a Christmas tradition or two in which one of your family member rains on your parade when it comes to a perfectly healthy and acceptable holiday tradition. I feel sorry for you and most importantly, empathy for you because I know what it feels like.
To me, setting up the Christmas tree represents something special. Growing up, it was the only Holiday tradition where everybody in my family was civil, collaborative and happy about the Christmas season approaching. I miss that.
What if You Don’t Like Setting Up a Christmas Tree?
So, because life is not all peachy, and because for some reason, some people think that the beauty and wonder of a Christmas tree is insignificant, I implore you to avoid being a party pooper this holiday season. Yep, I get it, party-pooping can happen. So here are my tips:
If you don’t like setting up the Christmas tree, suck it up. If it’s really not possible for you to pretend you like setting up a Christmas tree, forgo accepting gifts from anyone for a year or two and allow people to instead use that money to buy your family a Christmas tree with lights pre-installed. Preferably, that Christmas tree should have wheels and be a breeze to set up with just a simple flip so that people can decorate it without your grumpy help.
There is a long list of recommendations that I can give so that you don’t mess up Christmas for the people who treasure it. I’ll save you the time of hearing me out. All I will say is that if you can’t avoid being needed for the Christmas preparations, put your best smiley face on in order to preserve the dwindling magic of the holiday season that many of us like to feel. If you can’t be grown-up about that, after a satisfying solution is provided that doesn’t affect the majority of the family, lock yourself up in your little room, scream into a pillow and let the rest of us enjoy the “Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches.” This advice might seem harsh, but literally, I want to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and holiday season. Literally, and for the love of God, don’t get in the way of their healthy enjoyment. If nothing else, before ruining someone’s cherished holiday tradition stop to think about how you would feel when someone messes up your favorite once-a-year tradition. It puts thing into perspective, doesn’t it?
What is the Purpose Behind this Christmas Tree Blog Post?
This might seem like a petty complaint blog but really, it’s not as selfish as it seems. It’s really about more than just a Christmas tree. As a matter of fact, it’s about you, me and the rest of the world. For example, have you ever wondered why a lot of the focus of Christmas has become materialistic? Maybe it’s because the material things that we receive may not be our favorite things, or even the best parts about Christmas, but at least brand-new material things don’t discourage you the way that someone not caring about or respecting what you treasure does.
It all comes down to this:
When you don’t hold whatever someone else deems sacred, sacred, you are violating the right of someone’s happiness.”
So while you don’t have to loooovvvvee anyone’s Christmas traditions or beliefs just because they love it, you should love them enough to know how to respect what they consider sacred so that you don’t mess it up for them. This especially applies if you throw a tantrum every year when someone you supposedly love is abouttttt to engage in their favorite holiday tradition. If you really love someone, the leastthat you can do, is allow them the opportunity and the environment to enjoy the non-harmful activity that they enjoy, especially if it only comes around once a year and is linked to one of the most beloved holidays worldwide. Giving this type of love is the greatest gift I could receive this Christmas and the one I wish for you. Love is much more than what you receive, it’s the freedom of being who you are. And who are we? Ironically enough, in many ways, we are our traditions. And our traditions, are the legacy that our children will be left with. Do you really want your children to remember participating in a tradition that seemed special, but was forever tainted with someone’s lack of consideration for the family, those people who supposedly make every holiday worth it and meaningful?
It’s Time for Some Tough Love
Do you have a tendency to squash the joy out of a holiday tradition?
Who’s joy do you sabotage? Why?
What can you do about it?
Be the bigger person who recognizes his/her transgressions and share as much as or as little as you can with us. After all, we all learn from each others’ mistakes and are inspired by each others’ aha moments.
In the meantime may you AND your FAMILY have a very MERRY, jolly Christmas celebrated around a beautiful Christmas tree that reflects through its twinkling lights and shining ornaments, the love all around it. Remember, the tree provides the magic, you provide the love.
Who or What are You Secretly Thankful For This Year?
There are times in life when we are blessed with circumstances that at first glance seem catastrophes, obstacles, disasters and major flops. We think that we’ve just been dealt the most sour hand, that we have just been confronted with the most disappointing betrayal and any sense of pride that we had up until that point has been shattered. And we’re right, in some way. Life as we know it, is forever changed. But just as we wipe away the tears that ironically usually last less than 30 seconds at a time regardless of the immense pain we may feel, our eyes inevitably open up to a whole new world. And THAT is a good thing! Unless of course you want to continue being stuck in circumstances that don’t truly support who you are, don’t honor your essence and that don’t have your best interest in mind for what could be a truly fantastic and purposeful life.
What Changes are Going On in Your World?
How do you prefer to feel heartache? Slowly or over time? For example, pretend that you have a wonderful and exquisite 16-piece china set that you totally love and treasure. Would you rather have 16 different kitchen accidents for 16 pieces to be destroyed in their own way and make you suffer a loss 16 times? Or would you rather just drop the entire darn set once, cry for 30 seconds and get over it? I would say that the majority of us would just prefer the set to be shattered once. However, when we face what to us may seem catastrophic losses, we chicken out. Sadly, some of you don’t realize that the earthquake, tornado, tsunami and hail that you experience simultaneously is something that even your MOST sabotaging thoughts and patterns couldn’t have created… and that you’ve been “spared” multiple prolonged painful experiences that drag over the span of several years and/or decades in order to just experience the china set shattering once, pick up the pieces once and then move on peacefully without breaking a single glass in yeeeears. We think that we can’t handle life’s letdowns. But you know what? You CAN. As the saying goes, what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.
So, regardless of whether you’ve experienced little losses lately or HUGE losses, little pains or HUGE pains, little disappointments or HUGE disappointments, isolated negativity or in one unified and glorious shebang, be thankful. Maybe you’re one of the “lucky” people that only get little negativity and have a generously glorious life. Or maybe you’re the type of person who can manifest the sympathy of a higher power to face one difficult, but single downpour of crap that forces you to soften the grip of what is negatively affecting you and you’re so foolishly holding on to and acts as a laxative that allows you to release all your crap and the pain, waiting, suffering, shame and guilt that goes along with it.
You must let the autumn leaves of your life fall as they need to in order for your life to showcase its magnificence and its beauty.
Regardless of which reality you’ve been a part of, KNOW that what you experienced was so that you can learn a lesson from this earth school that life represents. Some of you may resist the idea that life is in fact a school, but note that if you aren’t learning from the lessons that the Universe is HELPING you to notice, the lessons will keep on repeating themselves in different circumstances, until you learn the them. Instead of seeing this as unfair or tedious, focus your attention on trying to be an A+ student, and accept the Universe’s help in being one. And why not? Borrow its notes once in a while, you might find purposeful treasures that you hadn’t contemplated before, and wouldn’t discover otherwise.
Whether you believe anything that I’m saying or not is irrelevant. After all, you create your own reality. The important thing is that you’re here. Alive. Powerful. Standing. You may have a scar on your knee, but you have a smile on your face. And you know what? The saying that there is always light at the end of the tunnel is also true. Even the most prolonged crisis has an end. One day. For every one. Somehow. Hopefully the end is a happy one. And even when you think that there’s no way out, that nobody cares, that nobody knows, that other people have greater problems that deserve more attention, and you question why these types of things “always” happen to you, you’re not alone. So smile, and feel my hug. Better yet, feel the hug of the Universe that is reassuring YOU that no matter what, if you listen to your intuition and try to seek the healthiest way out of the situation that you’re in, things will be alright. Really! Don’t take my word for it, though. Try it.
Blessings to be Thankful For This Thanksgiving
We can dwell on your issues, try to convince you about their potential blessings in disguise that they represent and even brainstorm solutions to your issues. However, if you want to see some things start to shift NOW for the better (in your mind and in what you attract into your life, mainly), start with giving thanks RIGHT NOW for what you have. Give thanks for the good things and give life for the challenges because the sooner you learn from the lessons that the challenges are trying to teach you, the sooner you can move on to a hopefully much easier and less painful lesson. Repeat this gratitude exercise daily or as often as you realistically can (I know, I know, life gets in the way). Let this become you’re catharsis, which the dictionary states is “the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions.” By cleansing your mind of the negative, and projecting thanks towards that which is there to make you happy or make you stronger, you will obtain a greater sense of relief. It’s as though you and the Universe will help you chip away the excess marble… sometimes softly, sometimes not so softly, so that the end, both you and your life are as much of a masterpiece as they can be.
So think about it… what are you thankful for? If you’re drawing a blank, analyze if these examples below may be some things you’re thankful for. Then think of some of your own.
Your family, those people that you can REALLY call family, who may seem distant, but who are always there, a phone call, a text or a social media post away. The blessings of a family include the newest and youngest members of the family who make you forget about your woes, the most senior members of the family (whom, if they’re admirable people, have a lot of wisdom of the universe that you can learn from if you’d only stop to really listen to them) and everybody in-between
Your friends, those near and far, former and actual, who valued you or had the misfortune of failing to value you despite you knowing how special you are 😉 yet taught you, without knowing, who your friends truly are. Those ‘friends’ who are just a number on your social media profiles or those you really want to spend time with you face to face to share what they’re doing lately, their inspirations, their physical photos and their interests, and what’s going on in their circles
Your life and all the positivity it has given you– much more than you can even wrap your brain, heart and soul around
Your dreams, both accomplished and soon to be accomplished, if you trust and put the hustle and backbone in them and in you that’s needed
Your essence— for being you, period
Your possibilities and the expansiveness and elation that that realization evokes in your soul and imagination deep down
Your strides so far (they’ve been great by the way =) )… hopefully you’re still on the right track, and if you’ve gotten off course, get back on, PLEASE, for the love of whomever you most value and wish the world for
Your health that is unfailing and if it has failed it’s simply as a request for you to pay better attention to yourself so that you can have the perfect health you’re meant to have
Being able to enjoy your favorite meal this Thanksgiving or any day, for that matter
Having people who want you sitting with them at a Thanksgiving table
For all of the lessons that you’ve learned, the hard or the easy way
For being part of this human race, part of your “species family”, that is some inexplicable way is connected to you and you to it, if you simply stopped to notice and feel in your heart
For being able to be loved and for having the capacity to love
For seeing the wonder, growth and evolution of the people or pets you cherish the most.
For all the good causes in the world attempting to straighten this place up
For all the lifelines that God, the Universe or whomever you believe in gave you unconditionally. These lifelines have given you a greater sense of peace that allows you to be more present in your life today.
Now It’s Your Turn to Share What You’re Thankful For
There are many ways to ponder upon what you’re thankful for. Some of you may prefer to pray, others to meditate, others to do yoga or tai chi, or simply take a walk to think. Regardless of your preferred method, instead of just thinking about the things you’re grateful for, jot them down in your own physical journal/diary or in the storm-proof electronic Penzu Journals that you can get at 20% off and that you can keep under “lock and key” in an encrypted online environment and be able to access from anywhere using the internet or a web-enabled mobile device. The power of the written word is enormous. And, writing down the things that you’re grateful for will allow you to consolidate them as things that you’re truly thankful for and the Universe will reward you with even more things to write on your journal. Why? Because what we focus on, expands.
If you’re willing, share what you’re thankful for below. Can’t wait to read and be inspired by the many things that all of us are so blessed to have, that are right there in front of us, but that we so often fail to see! Happy Thanksgiving Day today and always!
What Can Bring You Momentous Joy and How to Best Share This Joy with Others?
Oftentimes, we go through life waiting for something grandiose to happen. Without realizing it, we sit around expecting fireworks… of our big moment, our big break, the better house, the better car… but all the while, the most important thing in our life is right there, in front of us.
Cameras are great and all, both for recording and taking time-lapse photos, but seeing good change happen right before our very eyes is magical … to the point that we really don’t believe our eyes! This happened to me this weekend. My baby boy grew right before my very eyes. Several times, I put him down to sleep or down to nap and he woke up different, bigger, wiser and more mature. His hair texture changed from that of a nicely combed baby to that of his father’s straight, but surprisingly unruly hair. This weekend he made it pretty clear as to whether he wanted his father or I to carry him. He crawled decidedly to caress our dog. He patted my hand rhythmically along for the first time, making a rhyme that I’ve said everyday to him for most of his life come alive because he brought me to the present moment. He let us know nonverbally that he prefers sweet potatoes, corn, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in that order. Out of about twenty pictures posted from him, he repeatedly let me know which his favorite was by touching it. My baby’s eyes are still deciding what color they’ll be. Regardless, they’re the most mystical and mesmerizing color I’ve ever seen… and looking into my baby’s eyes and having him really gaze back is breathtaking.
Cherish the individuality and uniqueness of those whom you love.
Tonight, as I rocked him to sleep and sung the lullaby my grandmother would sing to me, I whispered the majority of the song. I was so choked up and in awe that something so precious could be mine. I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve this gift. As I half-sung to him, however, he smiled back and I was uber grateful that even though he’s grown, he is still a baby, my baby, and I still have a few “seconds in eternity” to enjoy him as a baby. And tonight, as I am about to go to sleep, I am immensely thankful for having this bundle of joy in my life who brings me to the “now,” moment by moment.
What Brings You Momentous Joy?
While I fully realize that this blog post is not the most momentous post you’ve ever read, if you have a child or if you have someone whom you love and treasure, go seek out your most joyous moment by loving them to the point that it brings you tears of joy… that will be one of the signs that you are truly and deeply blessed by the Divine. And please, as tempting as it may be, don’t take any kiss, caress or embrace for granted. 🙂
Please take a moment to share that magical, sweet moments that make you thank Life that you’re alive in the comments below. They’ll bring me joy just reading about them. And, if you want spread a little inspiration for stopping to see the beauty in those whom we most love, please share this post with them.
Is the movie “Instructions Not Included” worth your Time?
What makes a great movie a great movie? If I told you those elements now, I would be revealing too much about what makes “Instructions Not Included” great.
People tell me I’m very picky when it comes to considering that a movie is awesome. And even though “Instructions Not Included” isn’t 100% my cup of tea, since there are scenes that I can definitely do without, I still recommend that you watch it, without the kids.
There is one major caveat that I’d like to state and that is that some parts of the movie are in Spanish (although there are subtitles in English to allow you to keep up). Also, some of the humor is predominantly from the Mexican culture, which means that you won’t be able to understand every joke. Yet who does? There are many times when im listening to comedians, no matter what language, and their jokes ellude me, but the ones that I do understand are worth the laughter they bring me.
Eugenio Derbez is a Mexican comedian who has been sharing his great comic genius through shows like “Al Derecho y Al Derbez” starting in 1992, “Derbez en Cuando” in 1999 and “Familia Peluche” most recently to Spanish speaking homes. Derbez has a special gift of bringing several characters of his creation to life, that are now ingrained in the mexican culture.
If you know of Derbez’ work, that means that when you go to see this movie, you have the unspoken expectation that the movie is going to be a hoot, but even though the movie is funny, it’s more than just a comedy.
The basic story line is that Eugenio is someone has multiple intimate partners, one of which results in the birth of a baby girl. The baby girl’s mother drops off the baby with Eugenio and Eugenio then has to learn to be a dad.
As any parent can tell you, or your parenting skills have informed you, raising a child requires a lot of involvement, both physically and emotionally, but the bonding that occurs is beyond magical. This movie portrays that well and that’s what contributes to its greatness. There is magic in the script, the directing, the acting and the evolution of the story.
Like many of us, Eugenio had a dream of seeing a project of his imagination come to life. He worked on this movie project for ten years until it was just right to be birthed into the world.
I don’t know what the exact criteria for getting an Oscar nomination is. What I do know, is that this movie is deserving of an Oscar. I’ve seen many Oscar winning movies, and I have anxiously been waiting for the movie to get better at some point only to literally sit in the dark, after the movie is over, asking myself, ‘Is there all there is to this movie?” simply because the movie never got better. Yet when “No Instructions Included,” was over, I was blown away!
The first thing that I wanted to do was to show my family that I love and treasure them.
The second thing I wanted to do was immediately congratulate Eugenio for a job we done. Hopefully after watching it, you too feel like it was worth your time.
Now It’s Your Turn
After you watch the movie, please feel free to leave your comments about what you thought about the movie below.
