Christmas unwrapped- the gifts we didn’t ask for

I'm writing this blog before Christmas, thinking of the people who are just making it through each day. People who are doing the best they can to keep their chin up and get on with things.

Yes, we know there are so many good things about this time of year.

But...

As Sophia from The Golden girls would say "picture it...."

A Christmas tree with wrapped presents underneath it.

Along with the perfumes, the socks and thoughtful wished-for pressies all festively wrapped, we might also notice some less longed-for but very predictable regulars.

Do you see the gift of family tension? A large heavy box that gets left unopened each year.

Oh what about the gift of overdoing it, wrapped hurriedly with a tattered bow by someone who is clearly pushed to their financial and energy limits.

How about the pressie of pressure and expectations, flamboyantly sparkling under the tree in an overdone origami of garnish and ribbons.

Here we also glimpse the gift of pushed boundaries, always a delight to behold coiled up in strings, old guilt and pleasing.

Alongside these sits the gift of deflated hopes and broken relationships.

The little boxes filled with things that didn't go well and the barely wrapped hurts.

This is an obvious understatement but Christmas brings up a lot.

Your Christmas tree may not look like you imagined or hoped for this year.

Many of us we are filled with joy and sorrow this time of year. There might be loneliness this season, more than any other.

We see the calendar sticking out of a gift bag and brace for next years to do list.

Or we notice a space where a present should be, but not this year.

Our tree might be topped with so much love and so much loss and sparkle like teary eyes.

If this describes you (even just a little) then remember...

go easy on yourself.

I hope there will be quieter easier times to follow.

There will be space to reflect and to set new hopes in the months to come.

If and when we are ready therapy can be a good option.

Instead of putting all those unwished for, unwanted, hard to hold gifts away in a drawer out of sight until next year, consider using therapy to unwrap them carefully.

I know it sounds cheesy, but time spent in therapy of any kind might just be the best gift you could give yourself.

I will keep you in my thoughts,

Until next year,

Stay creative,

Ellen