Your Holiday Reminder
It's ok to not be OK
My annual “holiday reminder” posts may be one of my favorite things to share on Butterfly Thoughts. Maybe because I grew up in a world that didn’t admit, and didn’t support anyone else admitting, that anything was less than wonderful. Maybe not perfect, but still wonderful. As an adult, especially once I started my emotional healing journey, I stopped pretending and started being honest about my feelings and desires. And every winter holiday season, I do my best to encourage my readers to do the same.
For my newer readers, here are the links to my previous holiday posts. If you were a subscriber when I shared them, you still might want to read them again, to encourage yourself to do what’s needed to be good to you this winter.
Give yourself permission to say "no."
What if your holidays aren't happy?
It's OK to not celebrate Christmas
Good boundaries make good holidays (and lives)
It's OK to choose YOU for the holidays (and every day)
In case you don’t feel like working through seven(!) Butterfly Thoughts, here’s a condensed version.
It’s OK to be sad for the holidays.
It’s OK to be mad at God (even if you’re not sure you believe in Him).
It’s OK to be confused about your world and your life.
It’s OK to not be sure you trust God.
It’s OK to feel betrayed by God, or by your family, or your friends.
It’s OK to feel whatever you’re feeling, because feelings are neither right nor wrong. They just ARE.
What’s not OK is hiding your feelings, especially from yourself. It’s only by feeling them that we can heal them.
Burying our feelings just delays our healing.
Feeling them sucks, I know. And I know it can hurt like hell, but I also know we have to feel to heal.
I hope you have someone to reach out to when the feelings are overwhelming. If you don’t, please remember the Crisis and Suicide Prevention Hotline is always available to you in the U.S. via phone at 988, online at 988lifeline.org, or you can text HELLO to 741741.
edited because I forgot to add this link to a song that brings me comfort when the holidays are painful. I’m hoping it will comfort you, as well.
thank you for your thoughtfulness, Mary...
Loved this: "we have to feel to heal. " "I hope you have someone to reach out to when the feelings are overwhelming."