Contents
The longer we live, the less importance we attach to holidays on the occasion of a joyful event. We celebrate birthdays in a close circle or not at all, entering a new job is limited to congratulating friends on the phone or on social networks. So we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to truly experience the pleasant moments of life.
Celebrating any joyful event with loved ones, friends, colleagues, family members, we strengthen our mutual trust and enjoy the current moment more fully. When we spare no time and effort to pay attention to a pleasant event, strength returns to us in the form of a growing relationship. And the more participants come together, the more benefits from the holiday. One of the features that distinguishes strong couples from crumbling couples is that partners together celebrate not only big holidays, but also small events.1. Use any occasion to join the art of creating a holiday. But art is only worth something if you celebrate with all your heart.
An exercise
It is ideal, of course, to celebrate happy life events throughout the year. Not only New Year or spring holidays are suitable for collective rituals. The reason may be a family or calendar date, good news that you can’t wait to share, a goal that has finally been achieved. You can revisit an event that you feel you missed, or simply pay tribute to family and friends. The main thing in the holiday is the good news that we want to share, congratulations that we want to say, tender or grateful feelings that we strive to express. Talk about it with loved ones, choose a time for the holiday. Everyone can participate as they see fit: play a musical instrument or sing, give gifts, cook something delicious. The main thing is to live the joy of the moment, to share it with others here and now, being present in the present, and to be as real as possible ourselves.
Practice
Lisa, 42, midwife
“For a long time I suffered from impostor syndrome: after each success, it seemed to me that there were a million reasons for this, but there was no merit here. At the same time, I envied the success of others. And celebrating joyful events together with others, I freed myself from deep clamps. Now I am no longer ashamed of success, I gladly accept compliments and even congratulate myself on what I did well. I give myself time to realize my victories and enjoy them. When a new mother thanks me for helping her meet her baby, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for life itself.”
1 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2004, vol. 87.