As Thanksgiving is typically the start of the holiday season, I thought I’d just drop in to remind you to stop and smell the turkey (or stuffing or mashed potatoes or wine or whatever works for you). Today, just stop a couple of times and be present in the moment. Maybe it will be presence to chaos and lots of people or maybe your moment will be quieter. Maybe it will be a moment of joy or maybe grief and sadness. Whatever it is, stop and be present with yourself for that moment.

Maybe in that moment you’ll choose to be grateful for something or maybe you won’t. It doesn’t matter. You get to choose how you feel and why you feel that way. Anything you choose is just right for you. So often we head into the holiday season in reaction mode and we don’t stop to check in with ourselves. 

Learning to Be Present with Myself

Last year, I admittedly checked in a bit too late and had already downed too much wine and too much stuffing. I felt miserable for the rest of the weekend. This year, I’m going to check in with myself more frequently and with less judgment. I want to be present for all of it. Not just today, but for my life. I want to stop and smell the turkey a bit more often and appreciate all of the experiences that life has to offer.

Family time has become less and less frequent as my children get older and my parents have a harder time traveling. I want to savor these moments while I have them. I’m practicing being grateful for the family times that I do have, but also allowing myself some sadness for the changes that come with time and aging. It’s all part of the life experience. I’m planning to be present in all of it for as long as I can. 

Happy Thanksgiving dear people. As always, I am grateful for your kind responses to my weekly blog. I’m appreciative for your disagreements and challenges, always given with kindness and respect. Sharing my thoughts to an online world, many of them strangers, felt terrifying to me when I started this blog. Now it feels like a wonderful and unique place to connect with others who are not in my immediate space. So today as I stop and smell the turkey, I will also stop and share a thought of love and goodwill for all of you. 

Love,

Lisa Kaplin Psy. D. PCC