Making Room For Joy This Season
While the holiday season is a time of joy and good cheer, for many it also brings with it stress, exhaustion, and pressure. Full calendars, heightened expectations, financial concerns, and complicated family dynamics can quietly drain energy before the season even gets underway. When stress builds, it can feel difficult to access joy at all, let alone sustain it. The goal this season isn’t to deny or override this stress but instead, recognize that joy and stress can exist at the same time. When we feel stressed and overwhelmed, our attention naturally narrows toward what feels urgent or demanding and while this protective response is an essential coping mechanism, it can also make it harder for us to notice moments of ease, comfort, or connection inhibiting our ability to find joy.
Joy doesn’t always show up in sweeping, grand moments rather it’s found in the smaller, more meaningful moments. These brief moments, sometimes called micro-joys, can gently interrupt stress and help restore emotional balance, especially during demanding seasons like the holidays. Micro-joys often live in the ordinary moments such as pausing to enjoy a warm drink without multitasking, noticing winter lights or decorations, sharing a genuine laugh, or allowing yourself a quiet breath before or after a busy gathering. These experiences don’t require extra time or effort, they simply ask for awareness. One way to deepen these moments is through savoring, the practice of fully attending to a positive experience while it’s happening. Savoring might mean slowing down just enough to notice sensory details, naming what feels pleasant, or letting a moment linger before moving on. Even brief acts of savoring can help calm the nervous system and create a sense of steadiness during an otherwise hectic season.
The holidays don’t need to be perfect to be meaningful and joy doesn’t require the absence of stress to be present. By making space to notice the micro-joys around you, this season can feel a little lighter, a little steadier, and a little more human. As the year draws to a close, it may be worth asking yourself:
What small moments of joy am I already experiencing, even in the midst of stress?
Where could I slow down just enough to let one of those moments land?
What would it look like to move through this season with a little more gentleness toward myself?
Asking yourself these three simple questions will open up a greater awareness of what you need for yourself making the holidays less about meeting expectations, and more about honoring what truly sustains you. Wishing you a joyous and peaceful holiday season.
