The modern American Holiday experience can usually be described with two words, “Too Much.” We tend to over eat, over drink, over spend, overdo, and over indulge in all manner of things. We may see the holidays as a time to relax and enjoy life after 10 months of hard work and self-denial. We may simply take it as an occasion to give ourselves permission to ignore our health and well-being. When it comes to self-care of the body during the holidays, the question is “When is too much, TOO MUCH?”
Food – Our bodies have developed a little trick over the millennia to make sure that we eat enough food. As hunter/gatherers, food was seldom in abundant supply. Therefore, our brains learned to delay accepting that we have had enough to eat until we had eaten more than we needed. There is a 20-minute delay between being full and feeling full. This provided a margin of error that served us well in times of scarcity. Unfortunately, in times of plenty it means that we tend to over eat. During the holidays, this little quirk leads to dangerously high eating and drinking habits.
Money – Generosity is a good quality that is especially important during the holidays. It is an important element in the celebrations of the season. It reflects of our gratitude for what we have received throughout the year. To be generous is to demonstrate a “noble or kindly spirit” that shares out of our abundance with others. These gifts feed our spirit and promote healthy living when they are offered out of that sense of gratitude. But, when our giving is done for less noble reasons, it becomes a burden for on lives and takes away from our spiritual health. Over-spending, and the financial problems it creates, tend to happen for reasons other than generosity. We may over-spend more in order to impress others and portray ourselves as being wealthier or more loving than we are. We may over-spend in order to repay others for their generosity. We may spend too much in order to make-up for some suspected sense of failing in our relationships with our family or friends. Each of these grow out of a need to give selfishly. Generosity is about celebrating our relationship to the other, not our relationship to ourselves.
Time – The holiday season also brings an increased to do list, social schedule, and family gatherings. These calendar items can lead to “over-doing” and “under-being.” The holidays are intended to allow us to celebrate the meaning of the season. This requires that we are able to be in the season as well as “doing” the season. We find it difficult to focus on the season itself when we become over engaged in doing. When we get lost in the details of doing, the sense of celebration and wonder also get lost. To celebrate means to acknowledge and participate in an activity that feeds our spirit. By over doing, the celebration becomes, at best, an afterthought and our spirit suffers.
When is too much, TOO MUCH? When our eating/drinking, spending, and doing cease to feed your sense of joy then they are too much. They steal our joy and take away from our resilience of spirit. They trouble our soul, confuse our mind, and wear down our bodies. They turn the opportunity to celebrate into duty and obligation. They empty the season of the very meaning it is intended to impart.
How do we with deal with the stress of the holidays on our physical lives? We need to learn ways to manage our eating/drinking, budget, and calendar so that they allow us to enjoy the season. This begins with discovering the signs of satisfaction in our lives.
Food – Our bodies have developed a little trick over the millennia to make sure that we eat enough food. As hunter/gatherers, food was seldom in abundant supply. Therefore, our brains learned to delay accepting that we have had enough to eat until we had eaten more than we needed. There is a 20-minute delay between being full and feeling full. This provided a margin of error that served us well in times of scarcity. Unfortunately, in times of plenty it means that we tend to over eat. During the holidays, this little quirk leads to dangerously high eating and drinking habits.
Money – Generosity is a good quality that is especially important during the holidays. It is an important element in the celebrations of the season. It reflects of our gratitude for what we have received throughout the year. To be generous is to demonstrate a “noble or kindly spirit” that shares out of our abundance with others. These gifts feed our spirit and promote healthy living when they are offered out of that sense of gratitude. But, when our giving is done for less noble reasons, it becomes a burden for on lives and takes away from our spiritual health. Over-spending, and the financial problems it creates, tend to happen for reasons other than generosity. We may over-spend more in order to impress others and portray ourselves as being wealthier or more loving than we are. We may over-spend in order to repay others for their generosity. We may spend too much in order to make-up for some suspected sense of failing in our relationships with our family or friends. Each of these grow out of a need to give selfishly. Generosity is about celebrating our relationship to the other, not our relationship to ourselves.
Time – The holiday season also brings an increased to do list, social schedule, and family gatherings. These calendar items can lead to “over-doing” and “under-being.” The holidays are intended to allow us to celebrate the meaning of the season. This requires that we are able to be in the season as well as “doing” the season. We find it difficult to focus on the season itself when we become over engaged in doing. When we get lost in the details of doing, the sense of celebration and wonder also get lost. To celebrate means to acknowledge and participate in an activity that feeds our spirit. By over doing, the celebration becomes, at best, an afterthought and our spirit suffers.
When is too much, TOO MUCH? When our eating/drinking, spending, and doing cease to feed your sense of joy then they are too much. They steal our joy and take away from our resilience of spirit. They trouble our soul, confuse our mind, and wear down our bodies. They turn the opportunity to celebrate into duty and obligation. They empty the season of the very meaning it is intended to impart.
How do we with deal with the stress of the holidays on our physical lives? We need to learn ways to manage our eating/drinking, budget, and calendar so that they allow us to enjoy the season. This begins with discovering the signs of satisfaction in our lives.
Tip - Finding Satisfaction
The easiest way to tell when enough has become too much is see/feel the edge of satisfaction in our eating/drinking, spending, and doing. As we approach that edge, we can taper off and savor the moment rather than rushing headlong into over-indulgence. We can give ourselves a reason to set the fork and glass down, put away the credit card, and assume responsibility for our holiday calendar. That reason is simply, “I am satisfied!? Any more and it will be too much.”
This works at the table, in the store (or, more likely, online), and when the invitations for parties begin to arrive.
First, we need to recognize when our stomach, our budget, and our calendar gives us the subtle clues that we are satisfied. Listen to your body, not your mind. It well tell you when you have had enough.
Second, when we feel the need to keep going, we need to ask ourselves “Why?” Am I doing this for something other than celebrating the season with a “noble and kindly” spirit? Or am I doing this simply because I want more?
Third, as you set down the fork/glass, place you credit/debit card back in your pocket, and say “no” to that holiday activity, let that moment also be a celebration of the season. Let the satisfaction of “having done” make room in your spirit to remember and celebrate the reason(s) for the season. In short, does you doing still bring you joy? If not, then celebrate the not doing, as well.
When is too much, TOO MUCH? When it steals your joy and becomes a burden to celebrating the holidays. Give yourself the gift of the holidays by eating/drinking, spending, and doing responsibly.
Blessings,
Bob
This works at the table, in the store (or, more likely, online), and when the invitations for parties begin to arrive.
First, we need to recognize when our stomach, our budget, and our calendar gives us the subtle clues that we are satisfied. Listen to your body, not your mind. It well tell you when you have had enough.
Second, when we feel the need to keep going, we need to ask ourselves “Why?” Am I doing this for something other than celebrating the season with a “noble and kindly” spirit? Or am I doing this simply because I want more?
Third, as you set down the fork/glass, place you credit/debit card back in your pocket, and say “no” to that holiday activity, let that moment also be a celebration of the season. Let the satisfaction of “having done” make room in your spirit to remember and celebrate the reason(s) for the season. In short, does you doing still bring you joy? If not, then celebrate the not doing, as well.
When is too much, TOO MUCH? When it steals your joy and becomes a burden to celebrating the holidays. Give yourself the gift of the holidays by eating/drinking, spending, and doing responsibly.
Blessings,
Bob
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