When I was younger, Christmas was an exciting time. There would be presents, mountains of food, TV specials and games. But Christmas isn’t my favourite holiday nor is it a time that I relish. When I was a kid, of course I loved those aspects I just described but I didn’t understand the reality behind Christmas.
To me, it creates a falsehood that we are all close with family and must be feeling joyful and happy at this time of year, which certainly isn’t the case for most people. Then there’s the intensity of Christmas commercialism which increases stress and anxiety levels, year after year.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve started to develop a distant and complex relationship with Christmas. Not because I don’t enjoy some aspects of it but I have seen hidden truths behind the traditional methods of celebration that I don’t really want to be part of.
There’s huge expectations around Christmas on how we’re supposed to feel and be that doesn’t align with reality. This is where creating my own creative magic comes in. I’m reevaluating how I’d like to spend this time of year. Cosying up by a warm fire with a hot beverage and enjoying creating art, embroidery or drawing with those who truly value and love me, feels like an authentic way to exist, for me, this holiday season.
The holiday season can allow for relaxation and restoration and I’d like to take the opportunity to create simply for the pleasure of creating. No end goal. This feels liberating especially at a time when Christmas seems to be all about the gifts and food. I want to take back my own time, my own way of living and not be pressured by society to conform to a traditional Christmas. I might even not want to celebrate Christmas some years but instead celebrate a second Halloween or fast forward to New Year’s which is actually my second favourite holiday.
Creativity comes in handy when stressful times appear. It’s a balm for my spirit and a nurturing healer for my heart. It opens the channel to freedom, expression and being that transcends limits or restrictions.
The festive season looks different to all of us and breathing a little bit of creative magic feels just the right concoction for what can be, a difficult period. I might embroider an emotion onto a tote bag, draw an alien species, or even paint a new beverage into existence, why the heck not?
Our lives are what we make of it. Holiday seasons can be whatever we want them to be. That’s pretty special in itself.
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