The Amarillo Pioneer

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Penn: Let Go This Holiday Season

By Diana Penn

One of my most favorite holiday movies is not a “Christmas” movie, but an actual “holiday” / Thanksgiving movie. It is called, “Home for the Holidays”. It has a decent cast: Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Ann Bancroft, and a few other actors.  It is a story about your usual dysfunctional family gathering for Thanksgiving.  I watch the movie every year.  The point of the movie is to remind yourself to “breathe”. Even if it is just for that moment, in that moment, “breathe”. Let it go.

If you find you are in the midst of family drama, remind yourself to “let go” during Thanksgiving. I took a class once that focused on “letting go”. A handout by an unknown author was distributed, which listed what “let go” meant, and did not mean. These principles apply when you are confronted with some of the family difficulties we often face at holiday gatherings. A few examples from the handout:

  • To “let go” is not to cut myself off; it’s the realization I can’t control another.

  • To “let go” is to admit powerlessness which means the outcome is not in my hands.

  • To “let go” is not to fix but to be supportive.

  • To “let go” is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

  • To “let go” is to fear less and love more.

Letting go during the holidays has more to do with your own personal peace, than it does making sure everyone has a good experience at the dinner table. The bottom line is, we are all responsible for our own “good experience”.   

So, sit back, enjoy your dinner in peace and freedom. You do not have to be in control, in fact, it is better that you are not. Be thankful for the things that within your circle of influence, and “breathe”. Let the rest of it go.

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