In the United States, many of us are gathering with family and friends for Thanksgiving. This can be a lovely and welcomed time. And it can also be a triggering time. It brings up old hurts, old resentments, and old patterns of relating.
To change things, it takes one person willing to step out of the old norm and risk something new. It takes one person to be the first to try “loving with regard” instead of reacting out of old habits.
To the family member who is the “black sheep,” be the first to communicate, “You belong here.”
To the family member who often gets dismissed and talked over, be the first to show “You matter.”
To the family member who is growing old and there is much history between you two, and you’ve held back these words for years, be the first to say, “I love you.”
I KNOW how hard it is. You run the risk of looking crazy and being rejected. You make yourself vulnerable when you choose intimacy, love, and healing. You run the risk of the other person still choosing to react out of old habits and your new way of relating being rejected or dismissed.
But I am finding that such risk is worth it to the soul. There is a deep sense of freedom that comes from risking to live with such integrity, even despite how anyone responds. You begin to live according to your truth regardless of the outcome. That is a life of integrity. It is a life lived with fewer regrets. It is an honorable life when we choose little moments of honoring our truth.
This holiday, and each day, we can choose to be the first to risk loving with regard and living with integrity.
I am alongside you.
And please consider the gift of a Coaching session or one of my books, Your Light is Rising or Gems of Delight, when doing your holiday shopping. Both are intimate experiences that nourish the heart and soul.
Thank you so much for supporting small businesses that are working hard to inspire a more compassionate world.
