Choosing JOY and Celebrating LIFE

Celebrations…

December for me, like many of us, is always a very special month.

·      It’s the month where the countdown begins for the new year

·      It’s the time to celebrate and be merry

·      Its that beautiful time of the year when the weather is at its best and

·      It’s the beautiful season when families and loved ones come together to celebrate

·      It’s the month where, on an average, we all have far too much to eat and drink

Its that most amazing, beautiful, joyous and happiest time of the year.

I have sometimes wondered, what would life be without celebrations?

This first week of December got me thinking and I had this immense urge of celebrating differently.

Celebrations are and should be an integral part of our lives. They not only boost our physical but also mental well-being. They enable us to (even if temporarily) move our focus from the need and want to have more, to just being in a state of gratitude and joy.

Celebrations do so much more than just create happy memories:

·      Enables inspiring work/ corporate culture

·      Strengthen bonds at work and at home

·      Creates a harmonious and positive environment

·      Offers an opportunity for all to engage (regardless of the labels we carry)

·      Boosts harmony and positivity

·      Acknowledges the good and job well done

·      Reduces stress and releases happiness

And if celebration can bring so much joy and add tremendous positive value to our lives, why is it that we wait for a date to experience that feeling?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if we could celebrate each moment, each day, each relationship, each act of love, with same amount of zeal and enthusiasm.

Our life will just turn around!

I remember when I was a little girl, a dear cousin who was visiting us for a celebration, once said in a passing remark, that – ‘Hey Charul, you can achieve so much if you were in such positive and happy spirit all year round’ 

Well, I didn’t heed the remark at that time, but now it makes sense.

“Celebrations are like our antidotes, to get over what’s not serving us and to leap into the next chapter with joy, positivity and with a sense of gratitude!”

Everyday of our life is a special occasion! So go on and celebrate!

I say, lets celebrate this beautiful last month of 2020:

·      With heart full of gratitude

·      With acts of kindness

·      With an intent to be a better person/manager/leader/ mother ,etc… each day

·      With the purpose of giving back

·      With the resolve to nurture and thrive together

As David Campbell says –

“Celebrations are the punctuation marks that make sense of the passage of time; without them, there are no beginnings and no endings. Life becomes an endless series of Wednesdays.”

If anything, this year 2020, has taught us to shift our paradigms, readjust the focus and realign our thoughts (and hence actions)!

Whatever has happened around us, whether we are directly affected or not, we are all a part of it. 

And as we wind down this year, I propose that we also rethink how we define ‘celebration’.

These are my celebration goals this December:

I want to buy a new dress 

Vs. I will donate all the clothes I have not worn in last 12 months

I can’t wait for that bonus or salary increase 

Vs. I will acknowledge and reward the small acts of kindness around me

I will attend the best party in town 

Vs. I will bring smiles to those in need

Lets shift the emphasis from what we don’t have to – what all we should be thankful for!

Lets try and move the focus from

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate" Oprah Winfrey

So how are you choosing to celebrate?