Traditions — Do we need them?

My family had a tradition of baking Christmas cookies every year.  In this photo you can see the scale of cookies my Dad and I would bake and then package up to mail and give to everyone.  So there is a huge emotional component to baking cookies and sharing the love they represent with my family especially since Dad is no longer alive. I do absolutely LOVE baking those cookies and sharing the love!  Everybody loves receiving them so that makes me happy too.  BUT, it is a lot of work!  

This year I decided to not bake them because I didn’t want to spend all of my time baking them alone and then having to package them up to mail out.  It was seen as a lack of love and a break with “family” tradition.  I assured my family that I could still love them even more without baking all of those cookies. (Heaven knows we don’t need the the fat and sugar!   Plus, they have the recipes and could bake them just as easily as me.

How about you? Can you determine what really is necessary? Do you really need to make Grandma’s special cake that takes hours, especially if no one can come to your house to eat it?  Tradition is a vital part of our lives, but new ways of doing things can relieve some of the stress this time of year can bring.

Here are some ideas to help you deal with the stress!
 

 TRY THIS: Apply a few drops of Petitgrain essential oil on the insides of wrists, your solar plexus and along the lower spine.  Then cup your hands over your nose and inhale as you allow yourself to relax into your independence. 
Petitgrain is useful for clearing ancestral traditions that sometimes hold you hostage because they are so ingrained.  It can be a challenge to stand up for yourself and say no and to do what is best and right for you.  We have been taught that it would be a form of disrespect to break away from family traditions and to do so is like a betrayal.  We feel a sense of “obligation” to carry on with the same thinking and ways of being. 

This oil will help create a healthy awareness so you can “choose” what is right for you while still honoring your ancestry and staying true to yourself.