Let the Holiday's remind you of your Inner Gifts

Every year, when I return to NYC after Thanksgiving, I’m greeted by the Christmas tree stand being set up directly across the street from my apartment. It’s the same scene every year, yet it never loses its magic. The rows of evergreens and lights is like a sparkly, pine-scented embrace of the coming winter - it ignites my inner Holiday Giddiness. The air feels charged and the city seems to soften and sparkle a bit more.

The holidays have a way of helping us rediscover our light, offering a doorway back to the inner gifts we sometimes forget we carry. To be fair, in NYC it would be nearly impossible to avoid the holidays even if you wanted to. But I’m here to make a case for the beauty (and, I'll just say it - merriness!) of intentionally embracing this season. I don’t necessarily mean the music,   decorations, or parties (though I’m here for all of it - and definitely for the cookies). I’m talking about a quieter layer beneath it all — the feeling that, collectively, we’re trying  to cultivate a bit more kindness, generosity,  warmth, and goodwill as we move into the coldest, darkest stretch of the year.   

Whether or not you personally observe any winter holidays, the reminders of light-in-the-darkness are everywhere — twinkling in the park, glowing from someone’s window, streaming from the speakers of a store. These can be ignored, or they can serve as little pilot lights,  inviting us to re-ignite our own inner glow. I'm not discounting the overwhelm that can come with this season.  The gifts must be found and purchased, the cookies baked, and the parties planned (and, let's be honest - its often the moms of the world who are doing the bulk of that work..) But these little sparks can serve as gentle prompts. They can encourage us to reconnect with the warmth we generate from within, and to let our particular radiance brighten our corner of the world.

This month, our theme is Our Inner Gift.

What is your unique light — the part of you that shines just by being authentically who you are?And how does that light illuminate, uplift, or inspire the people around you?

As we move through December, I invite you to lean into these questions. Let this month of gift-giving be a reminder of your most important gift.  That inner gift  is real, it matters, and it’s meant to be shared.