If you're feeling stressed, overwhelmed or any other difficult emotion this Christmas, I want you to try something.
I want you to accept how you feel.
You read that right; even thought the title of this blog post is "how to feel more ease", I'm saying that first, you should accept that you feel stressed or overwhelmed or however you're feeling.
Hear me out.
Mindfulness ISN'T about being happy and calm all the time.
It's about being in the present moment WITHOUT JUDGEMENT.
When we think "ahhh I wish I wasn't stressed".
Or "I wish I could have more ease at Christmas and not be overwhelmed!".
...we're judging the emotions we're feeling.
And why is that a problem?
Because now you're feeling two things.
Stress AND negative judgement.
If you can accept the stress, if you can say to yourself "I wish I wasn't feeling stressed right now, but I am", and genuinely mean it... you'll feel better.
Because even if the stress stays the same, at least now you're only feeling stress. Not stress and resentment for the stress.
This can be hard to do, which is why we practise.
When we meditate every day, we're practising accepting things exactly as they are without judgement.
So if for example you spend the whole meditation pulling your attention back to the present moment, but do that with kindness and without judging yourself for finding it hard - you're strengthening that mental muscle.
And as with anything, the more you practise, the easier it gets.
It's one of the reasons I don't think you can have a bad meditation.
The meditation is either "easy", brings you back to the present moment, and makes you feel good.
Or the meditation is hard, and you have to concentrate a LOT on being present, and therefore on being kind to yourself and removing judgement.
Both scenarios, result in you having more ease in your life.
So, my top tip for more ease this Christmas?
I guess there's two.
1. Release judgement when you DON'T feel ease, and allow yourself to feel whatever you're feeling. This creates more ease simply by removing the resentment, anger or frustration about whatever you're feeing.
2. Meditate. Every day. It'll either make you feel better there and then or help with point 1. Win-win.
As always, you don't have to believe a word a say. But if something resonates, why not give it a go?
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