Post-holiday Perspective

             It is that time of the year when we feel like we are standing with one foot in the past year and one foot in the new year. We have this nagging feeling that life has abruptly changed and we are not sure that is a good thing. Unrealized expectations of last year haunt us, while the premonitions surrounding our unknown future unsettle us. Coupled with these perspectives is the shroud of holiday blues that confront many people. The hype of the holidays has been replaced with the reality of the mundane. Perhaps family gatherings did not match the Norman Rockwell portrait of what life should be like. The longed for gift did not supply the emotional surge that was anticipated. Life that had been moving along at warp speed suddenly slows to a pace of normalcy, and the impact is emotionally jarring. As psychologist Dr. Jennifer Hartstein observes, "We have all of this stuff going on from really the end of October, from Halloween, through the end of the December. We are going, going, going. And often, there's nothing left after that. We go back to the regular lives and we're bummed out about it."   

            Looking back at the past year we try and process the events with the question, “Why?” Why has the weather gone wild with killer storms, wildfires, and superstorms like Hurricane Sandy? Why has politics become a quagmire of ideologies that paralyze our nation into warring factions that cannot address financial, social, or humanitarian issues? Why does a nation rich in resources become financially bankrupt and increasingly greedy? Why have tragedies like mass murders in a movie theater, an elementary school, and a religious gathering begun to define us as a nation? Why have international matters become even more unsettling as terrorism escalates, wars grow more numerous, and people’s inhumanity to others morphs into barbarous brutality? Why has our nation become even more morally and spiritually bankrupt? Looking back can be unsettling.

            Looking ahead to the coming year causes us to ask the question, “What’s next?” Some conclude hopefully that things will be getting better and better without explaining the catalyst for such a shift. Those less optimistic see the trends of the past year spiraling even further downward toward greater agonizing uncertainty. Will people change, and in doing so, generate change? Or will fate dominate as the old song goes, “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).” Either view generates a rather bleak perspective looking ahead to the new year. As the WebMD notes, “Hitting January 2 is like going from 60 to zero in one day. The mandatory cheer, cooking, visitors, glitz, glitter, toys, a million chores -- have drowned out the drumbeats of war, the nuclear posturing, the fear of downsizing, all the doubts and fears, for a couple of weeks -- then, over, zip. What now?” Looking ahead can be unsettling too.

            What is the alternative to the post-holiday blues? Many have offered suggestions like healthy eating, exercising, getting proper sleep, and focusing upon new goals. Susan Battley, a leadership psychologist and clinical professor at State University of New York at Stony Brook, proposes what she calls “Three Bags Full” describing, “A BAG is a 'Big Audacious Goal.'" Using her suggestion, let us consider three BAGs for the New Year from a biblical perspective. First, practice gratitude. The Bible says, “In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Seeing life with purpose gives meaning even to the most difficult circumstance of life. With this understanding there is an opportunity to pause and look for at least one thing for which we can give thanks in the events of our life.

            A second bag may be to practice grace. Grace is defined as “disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency toward another.” How many disputes would be defused, relationships restored, and bitterness neutralized if we extended grace toward one another.  We want grace extended to us, yet often withhold it from others. The Bible challenges us in Ephesians 5:18 to, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” What would a world look like if this was the predominate response to offenses we experience from others? Such a quality was displayed in Jesus. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:22).  Grace reduces the friction of dealing with people who may cause us so much pain.

            Perhaps the third bag for the New Year is to practice generosity. There are ample opportunities to bless others as we have been blessed.  "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you…Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure-- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." (Luke 6:31,38). Seeing the need of another met by your investment in their life easily turns the post-holiday blues golden. All that people need is not material. Perhaps your generosity can be expressed by means of time, effort, or other meaningful investments. Other-centeredness lifts the hearts of other people as well as our own.

            This year let’s transform this post-holiday season from a potential letdown to a time of positive growth and action. Have a blessed New Year!