December: Celebrations!
IT’S DECEMBER, LET’S CELEBRATE!
You might have noticed that each month we like to focus on a single wellness dimension of the 10 that we’ve identified.
This means we have a couple of extra months to focus elsewhere, and December seems like a perfect time to think about what role #celebrations have on our lives and how they intersect with these different parts of our wellbeing.
I’m sure there are those of you who can relate to the stress of budgeting for entertaining and gifts #financialwellness, experiencing awkward family get-togethers #socialwellness, indulging in holiday treats #physicalwellness. For some reason, this time of year highlights so many pressure points we might have.
So, this month you can expect content relating to your wellness during the silly season. Whatever you choose to celebrate we’ll help you keep focused on the things that really matter to you.
Kaibigan Letter
Paról: A Symbol of Hope & Resilience
Photo source: Aurora Santiago
Writing to Robust Wellness
Expressive writing, like journaling, evokes mindfulness and helps writers remain present while keeping perspective. Journaling is an opportunity for emotional catharsis, strengthens our emotional and mental health, relieves stress and boosts our immune system, keeps our memory sharp, and emphasizes our pattern and growth in adversity.
We invite you to keep a journal and unearth how your lifestyle interweaves the ten wellness dimensions with Laura as your guide.
Monday, December 6, 2021
WHAT ARE YOU CELEBRATING THIS TIME OF YEAR?
In the spirit of Celebrations X Intellectual Wellness, how much do you know about the actual traditions that you have and where they came from?
What about those of your friends who celebrate different occasions than you?
A few questions to get you started:
- What decorations are associated with your celebration of choice and why?
- What is the general mood of your holiday observance? Solemn? Joyful?
- What do you cook, eat, or drink during this time?
- What is the history of the traditions you have culturally and within your own family?
- What specific memories of these events do you have from past celebrations?
We would love to hear about what makes your celebrations special and if you have any unique observances.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
CELEBRATIONS X EMOTIONAL WELLNESS
“You can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle three things: a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled Christmas tree lights” – Maya Angelou
…and this time of year, it’s not uncommon to have all three in succession 😬
A friendly reminder that it’s okay to feel a range of emotions during these holiday seasons. Joy, sadness, anger, envy…. the entire cast of Disney/Pixar’s “Inside/Out” might show up for you. 😂
A little extra self-care goes a long way during this time of year.
Winter 2021 Wellness Prompts
Weekly Journal Prompts
December 2021
Thursday, December 2, 2021 This month’s Kaibigan Letter written by Angel is about the star-shaped parol as a symbol of hope and resilience. These traditional Christmas lanterns carry more than just the original, religious meaning for many Filipinos. In this thoughtful blog post Angel shares how so many of our traditions and celebrations often hold new meaning as we become more aware of and question the narratives that surround the cultural education passed down to us by previous generations. This beautiful image is of an oil painting on canvas done by artist Jorge Pineda (1879-1946) entitled “Magpaparol” (1933) Happy reading!
Friday, December 3, 2021 CELEBRATIONS & PHYSICAL WELLNESS This is definitely NOT a post about what you should or shouldn't be doing during the holidays when it comes to your physical health/fitness/nutrition, etc. You get to decide how you’ll celebrate and if you want to indulge or enjoy some of the food items you love…or even if you want to bypass going to the gym for a week break to relax a bit more. As we know, rest is an extremely legitimate (and frankly my favorite) form of physical wellness. Today’s Journal Prompt: Thinking about past events and holiday seasons, how do celebrations typically affect your physical wellbeing? You may want to even note down in your calendar or journal each day during this month what you experience if you haven’t paid much attention to your physical state in the past.
