Oh, What Fun

I want to start by wishing you a merry Christmas. As holidays go, Christmas is my favorite. Coming in at a distant second is the Fourth of July. No other holidays entice me to buy a seasonally themed jigsaw puzzle like these two do—that’s all the evidence you need to know how special these celebrations are to me.

My favorite holiday (see above paragraph) comes with a favorite tradition. It’s the type of tradition that is non-negotiable, one I insist on observing every year. Whenever I’m asked about my family’s Christmas traditions, this is the only one I mention. Think fun for all ages. Think inexpensive. Think no fuss. Think ideal.

For want of a little drummer boy to strum a drumroll, I’ll type my Christmas tradition in all caps: IF IT CAUSES STRESS, WE DON’T DO IT.

Pretty great, huh?

Like many revelers, we plan a lot of holiday activities—shopping, dining, partying, concert-going, baking, movie-watching and all-around congregating. These activities have one thing in common vis-à-vis our Christmas tradition. They are all subject to cancellation. At the first sign of crankiness, or a stiff neck, or an elevated heart rate, the activity is dropped and replaced by a breather. No questions asked.

As a bonus, this Christmas tradition can be adapted to any occasion. Personally, I like to observe it winter, spring, summer and fall. And for good reason–I hate stress. I mentioned that in a job interview once and was completely misunderstood and subsequently ruled out as a prospective employee. In retrospect, I think the interviewer heard my words to mean that I wasn’t cut out for a potentially stressful job. Au contraire. As I saw it, the fact that I don’t like stress made me an ideal pick for the position. I said that I like challenges, and I like problem-solving. Stress to me is a sign that my approach to a challenge or a problem is all wrong. That’s when I look for the comfort zone, where the creative juices flow, where I can focus, where stress has difficulty surviving.

Stress is obnoxious, and like a spoiled child, it insists on my complete attention—I don’t know how anyone can do anything worthwhile tending to their stress. I imagine that world-class athletes, entertainers and surgeons do their best work by finding stress-free zones in situations that would crush many of us.

Admittedly, I’m not a world-class anything . . . yet . . . and I succumb to stress more often than I want. When it dawns on me that stress has wriggled its ugly self into my mood, I make an attempt to shoo it away with this very effective exercise. I stop what I’m doing and take a moment to imagine myself lying flat on a raft that’s floating down the middle of a slow-moving river. The banks to either side are about 30 feet away. All of my problems—real or make-believe—are standing on the banks. I observe them from the safety of my raft. I can stop the raft anytime and join my problems. Or I can keep floating. I always choose to keep floating. My problems don’t seem so critical up river where I left them. Once they’re in the distance, my head clears, and I’m in a state of mind to problem solve.

A word of warning. Seeing that it’s Christmas, I do not recommend taking the raft on a frozen river. Ditch the raft and try Hawaii instead. I hear that troubles melt on warm, sandy beaches.