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As the Thanksgiving Holidays approach in the US, many look forward to celebrating with family and friends with anticipation and happiness.
Others dread the annual family gatherings expecting arguments, personal grilling, family disputes, generational disapprovals, and chaos accompanying enforced meetings of relatives. My family holidays were like this as a child. If this is your expectation, one way to relieve the tension in advance of the holiday get-together, is to envision a day of delight and happiness, sharing memories and creating good times.
Our brain often cannot tell the difference between a vivid dream or vision and reality. Top athletes image their performance before they actually physically run onto the field, court, or track. When they picture themselves playing ball or racing, they feel their muscles straining, see the other players, smell the field, feel the tension and excitement of the game, and know they can win.
If you plan to attend a family event, imagine yourself meeting every family member individually, smell the meal cooking, hear everyone talking, and the feel the tension release in your body as you walk through the door. Envision being relaxed, confident, and welcomed with open arms and joy. Release any tension or conflict you may anticipate with a particular person, and forgive them for any hurt they may have caused you. In your meditation before arriving, ask for forgiveness for any hurt you may have caused them. Feel any stress, strain, pain, loss, neglect, or misunderstanding simply wash away and let go. Do this for everyone who may attend the gathering. Just for this single day, let bygones rest in the past. Visualize Thanksgiving Day as a peaceful, happy, fun family day.
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