Avoiding the Frenetic Pace of the Season

How does one stay sane in a holiday frenzy that debuts next week with Thanksgiving Day, and lingers through the start of the new year?

That's what interfaith leaders are asking one another these days.
Rabbi Dr. Mordehai Walman of Berkley, and others, including myself, will tell ways to stay a little less stressed  through the season that launches Thanksgiving Day through the New Year.

Join us at Big Jack's Barb-Q, 27454 Gratiot Avenue in Roseville, Michigan from 7 until 8:15 pm.
Take, Rabbi Dorit Edut of Huntington Woods, MI., for example.

The Reform Jewess claims that Christianity's two major feasts - Easter and Christmas -
seem to set up believers for stress.

"Our high holidays are spread out over the year," adds the Rabbi.

Consequently, mounting and frenetic paces are less frequent and spread out over time.

Centering prayer is my way of staying grounded and calm amid a culture of commercial shopping, and more.

Common sense. 

The kind my parents had.

They were farmers who worked hard and slept as hard.

That's more important than piling up credentials and courses in stress reduction.

It works well when I honor the commitment and shut down for a period of time.

Twice daily for twenty minute sessions I choose a mantra, a litany word, such as "peace" to return to in my still time when distractions and noise inevitably enter the quiet.

Others choose exercise to vent anxiety, and more, that fills one's work and home life.

Yoga is just what the doctor prescribes for others.

Breathing in and out soothes others when the heart beats boldly.

Sitting silently in the presence of the blessed sacrament for Catholics works also for some.

We're wired with the capacity to respond beyond reaction to conflict and culture's impatience and fast pace.

It's up to me to enter a wrestling match.

I'm better off if I stay out of the ring.

After all, it takes to to tango, as the metaphor describes a way to entertain wellness amid holiday bells
and horns.

To find away to be in a world of motion makes all the difference, some say.

The holiday season doesn't have to be a rush pressing one into a basket case.

It's up to you.

And, me.