Tag: Decorations

This year my Countdown to Christmas is a nontraditional Advent Calendar centering (pun intended) on mindfulness.

On the front of each card is neat little picture, and on the back are the instructions for the short meditation.

Today, the 11th Day of Advent … MINDFULLY DECORATE.

Here are today’s instructions:

Some people adore decorating the house for Christmas, while others cringe at the thought of it. Wherever you put yourself on this scale, this exercise is designed to encourage a more involved and rewarding decorating experience.

The first step is to approach the task as though this is the first time you have ever put up Christmas decorations. Disregard any prior routines and consider anew which decorations to put where, and why.

Be fully present in the moment as you decorate. Examine each decoration before you put it up. Notice each detail of it – how it feels in your hands, how the light shines off its surface, what aspect of Christmas it represents. Think about each item’s existence, sitting in a cupboard for most of the year then coming out in December for its time to shine.

Give care and attention to the Christmas tree. Study its shape, smell its scent, touch its needles. Lovingly dress it in your chosen decorations.

Be aware of your thoughts and emotions as you go through the process of decorating the house. Do you start to feel anticipation for the coming days? Are there any decorations that instigate a fond memory from the past? Embrace these feelings as they happen.

By immersing ourselves fully in a task like this, we realise how much can pass us by when subscribing to a standard routine.

(Since we’ve already finished our decorating, I had to alter this meditation by thinking about our holiday decor.)