December can be a busy, hectic month with various holidays falling throughout. Some people may be looking forward to a particular holiday, while others dread the emotional ups and downs that sometimes accompany days that are set aside for joy and happiness. However you approach a holiday, it can be tiring and way too busy. So, what can we do to slow things down?

Journaling every, or most, days can get your thoughts and concerns down on the page and out of your head. It can clarify what you really want to do and maybe what you can bypass. If you just have to do something you don’t want to do, it can help you make peace with it. Think about the following writing prompts and answer one or all of them to help make your holidays more joyful.

What December holiday draws you in, and how can you stay calm and peaceful throughout the days and weeks leading up to it? And get through it? Hint: schedule some enjoyable activities that don’t involve the holiday that you really like to do. What are those activities?

What makes you happy about this holiday? Be sure to savor those thoughts.

Write about a memorable time from the past regarding this holiday, and enjoy it all over again.

I’ve been thinking about the stories I tell myself and wonder if any of them are connected to what my life is about inside or out. We all live our lives in stories, many of them only perceived reality. When examined, they don’t match how we are living day by day. Often, they aren’t really the truth, but something we make up in our heads while trying to make sense of the world we live in. They may make us more comfortable, even the negative stories, because we understand them and know what to expect. Maybe it’s time to just experience life without the accompanying stories. Can we do that? I’m not sure.

Which stories are you embracing right now? Do they match the truth?

Are there any stories that you are avoiding or struggling with? How can you resolve the issues you have with them?

If you have any aha’s or any other thoughts, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

Today begins our writing relationship. I look forward to meeting you and hearing what you have to say. I will be posting many types of writing prompts: poetry, journaling, meditation, writing from pictures and whatever else I can think of or what I hear from you that you’d like to write to. I may try out some of my new poems on you, to get your feedback, and I’d like to read yours, too. This will be an ongoing journey, and it will evolve as we walk down this path together.

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