Take comfort in rituals

For any part of the season that happens year after year, view it as what it is – a ritual (and not just an excuse to roll your eyes and think, “Here we go again.”)  Rituals are how we mark time, ascribe meaning to our experiences and transcend daily worries. If you could view your annual pilgrimage to grandma’s house as a ritual, how would that change your experience of it?

And if there’s no part of your standard holiday celebrations that you find particularly meaningful, start your own. As Pat Conroy wrote in his book The Lords of Discipline,  “The human soul can always use a new tradition. Sometimes we require them.”