During this season, many of you travel or make time to visit with family and friends and frequently spend extended periods of time with your family of origin. This is an exciting, sacred, and emotional time that is also concentrated and can be stressful. I offer an awareness for you to contemplate as you travel, visit, and participate in the rituals of your unique family.Do you ever wonder why you can feel like you are 5 years old again just by trying to cook a meal together? It is so easy to fall back into your childhood family role when everyone comes into the same general vicinity. You may hear yourself sounding like a much younger version of yourself, or old hurts that were never resolved come back to the surface. Or maybe you go into the event with the hopes that it will be different this year. It is so easy to fall back into old unconscious patterns with our families (for better or for worse) because that is where those patterns are rooted.
If you have spent this year working on evolving from old patterns, practicing self-care, and forgiving the past and offering unconditional love, this can be a great test. May you take good care to pause, breathe, stay in the present moment, and observe. Observe this group of people who all came together for the purpose of learning and growing together. You all chose each other to be your very own master teachers. Witness your interactions through this lens and see what new awareness, understanding, forgiveness, or love you may discover.
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