“It’s okay to say ‘no’ to unnecessary crazy”- Unknown
When I read this quote, my heart gives a resounding ‘yes.’ I love the permission it gives us to value ourselves enough to say ‘no’ to the things that simply drain us.
Our culture is really good at selling us all the reasons why we shouldn’t do this, especially at Christmas. If you’ve grown up in our culture, you know what it’s like to feel the expectation of the season. Some of it is exciting and fun and beautiful. But some of it is a trap. It is fraught with comparison, scarcity, and pain. It will never be perfect, and boy, that hurts sometimes.
Let me share with you, I’m right there in the rat race with everyone else. Or at least, I’m tempted to be. This type of set up works great for a person who is a recovering perfectionist (not).
Unattainable goal + effort = discontentment
***
So lately, we’ve been talking a lot about keeping things simple. In our family, this means focusing on Advent. Letting ourselves feel the longing. While we remember that Christmas and this world hold many beautiful and good things; we can sense there’s something more. And right now, all we can see is a glimpse of it. But there’s redeeming value in our expectation.
The longing points us to the only one that can actually fill it.
This perspective provides relief in the midst of a world that deeply values image and perceived value instead of the true weight of the thing (this is where unnecessary crazy comes in, too).
But slowly, I am learning the value of things are in their core; the heart of it. And it also gives me the courage to get off the cycle of comparison and stick with what matters, and that’s definitely not the chaos the world is selling.
Join me there, in the place where we choose peace over insanity?
