You would think in a time of year so packed with Holy Days (we even call this time of year “the holidays”) that this would be the most spiritual season of the year.  It can be, if you’re careful.  But the time from Thanksgiving through the end of the year, also brings distractions, temptations, materialism, perfectionism, and disconnection from real feelings in a duty to be “jolly.”  (Is anyone expected to be “jolly” any other time of the year?)

            Yikes!

            I’m not saying the holidays have to be soul-killers.  They don’t.  They aren’t.  Usually there are genuine moments of grace, peace, generosity, thankfulness, and joy, for ourselves and others.  May those moments be many for you this year.

            But if the holidays sometimes feel like something you just have to “get through” that might be a clue to what I see as the real spiritual danger of this time of year, not the commercialization of the shopping mall Santa and the credit card bills we’re setting ourselves up for in January, but the lack of attention as we fly from one event to the next while making plans for another and simultaneously feeling regret for how an even earlier event didn’t come off as well as we had hoped.

The spiritual problem this time of year is not too many presents but too little presence. 

Instead of “getting through” the holidays, practice the spiritual gift of living in the moment.  Pay attention.  Be mindful.  Bring your focus back to the time and place you are actually experiencing.

When I get pulled away from my lived reality, I have two little practices that I do.  First, I look at my feet.  Where am I actually standing?  And then I look as far away as possible.  Out the window.  Or above the city to the mountains.  What’s the farthest away thing I can see?  The first exercise brings mind and body back together.  The second reminds me of something larger than myself.

Successful holidays require planning.  The spiritual advice to live in the moment doesn’t mean “don’t plan for the future” it means, “experience the planning as a precious moment of life unto itself.”  As you check names and tasks off your lists, remember that the holidays aren’t tasks and the goal isn’t a completed list, but an experience of life.

The enjoyment of gift-giving begins with the friendly conversation with the clerk as you buy the present.  Put up your decorations because decorating the house is fun, not just for what it will look like later.  Enjoy the party without judging how it’s going.  Enjoy this party, and pay attention to this person in front of you, rather than mentally leaping ahead to the next obligation.  

Wait until the first week of January to do your year in review and set your resolutions for next year.  For this holiday season, just be present.