The other morning I was standing in line at the Post Office, waiting to send a parcel to my brother and his family for Christmas.  The service was slower than I would have liked and the line didn’t seem to be moving at all.  I caught myself getting annoyed and judging the people who were working behind the counter.  Couldn’t they move a bit faster?  Why wasn’t that woman helping customers instead of sorting through mail?  You’d think they would have more people working at this time of year….As I grew more annoyed I noticed that my body was also tensing up and I immediately realized I needed to do something differently.  I needed to change the way I was thinking. 

I remembered that my word for the week was “playful.”  Were these the thoughts of a playful woman?  Was this what a playful body felt like?  Nope!  What could I do as I stood in line to create a more playful experience for myself?  First I imagined that the women behind the counter were Santa’s elves, then I started to imagine the look on my nephew’s face when he opened his presents from us.  I watched in my mind as he smiled, then laughed then immediately started to play with his gift, how he would want to take it everywhere, how he might even try to sleep with it!  These thoughts lead to remembering how much fun we had shopping for these gifts and how excited I had been about sending the gifts to my family.  Before I knew it, the post office line started moving and one of the very friendly women (elves) behind the counter was helping me.  She was very attentive and caught a mistake that I had made with postage that saved me having to have a letter returned (hmmm…maybe that’s why the line was moving a bit slower than I thought it should have…the postal clerks were being very thorough…). 

Shifting my mood from annoyed and stressed to playful changed everything for me.  It seemed like the line moved faster, I received great service and when I left, both the clerk and I were laughing.  This episode at the post office inspired me to write this blog post and to create the 12 Days of Joyful Reconnection during the Holiday Season.  For those of you who have my Reconnect to Yourself Cards, this is another way to use the cards to support and inspire you.  If you don’t have my cards, you can read more about them at this link.  Each week, I draw a card from the deck and use the word that I draw as my focus for the week.  To create more focus and support I have decided to choose one card a day and post the word for all of you to also join me over the next 12 days. 

I have randomly chosen 12 words to help you and me create a more connected and more joyful holiday season.  If you do not celebrate at this time of year, you can still use the words to help you focus on anything you would like to change over the next couple of weeks.  You may also notice that you may be challenged by a particular word that doesn’t seem to apply to you.  I encourage you to play with the word anyway.  Figure out what the word means to you and how you can apply it to your day. 

Also, I would love to hear about your experiences and definitions as you use the word of the day.  Be sure to post your comments here or on my Facebook page as well.  And don’t keep the word to yourself; feel free to share it with as many people as you come across so that your friends and family can also have a more connected, more joyful holiday season!

Joyfully,

Deb

P.S. Do you think the Reconnect to Yourself cards might make a nice gift for someone?  A stressed out friend…an overwhelmed boss…a family member who is always there for you?  Here’s your chance…