A time for present giving. A time for holiday cheer. A time for family.
Also a time for stupidity, small-mindedness, conflict and pettiness.
Recently, I have had an unusual string of episodes of the latter.
I get it. The holidays are a wonderful time but they can be filled with stress as well. Time constraints. Money restraints. The end of the year feeling where you realize you will fall short of many of things you wanted to accomplish during the year. The sad memories of people you may have lost. It's a mixed recipe for sure.
I have three ingredients to add to the mix to make it rise.
Perspective - Doesn't matter the situation, when you remove yourself from the eye of the storm and look at the players involved from an outside in point of view, a greater understanding happens.
Appreciation - When you have a true realization of what you have and where you are, the true triviality of the conflict usually comes to bear.
Music - This year, I have found an unusually high percentage of times where simply listening to the right song at the right time removes me from the shallow waters of the situation. I am talking cranking it to 11 and belting out the notes (whether in private or public) no matter how imperfect the pitch.
The recipe for making bread rise is simple for sure. The recipe for making life rise is just as simple.
Breaking bread. Making life.
It's the yeast you CAN do.
PS; I find it interesting that when I started writing this piece, I was in a bad mood. I took my own advice. Time to make some more bread.
