Creativity can help heal holiday grief. Oftentimes the holiday becomes a reminder of things we don’t have due to death, disease, and breakups. Challenges with family, finances, and frustration due to limitations from COVID persist during the holiday. How can we thrive instead of barely surviving the holiday season while grieving? Grief is a natural response to loss when something or someone you love is taken away. Often the pain of loss can be overwhelming and feel like an emotional rollercoaster. The emotional suffering of a loss is unavoidable and cannot be ignored especially during the holiday season. Stress, loneliness, and anger can knock on your door and want to be invited to sit on your couch. If you desire to find gratitude, hope, and zeal despite your challenging times, you can use creativity as a plan of action.
Use Creativity to Redirect your Thinking
Use creativity by focusing on new exciting things to find joy during times of grief. Creativity allows you to turn new and imaginative ideas into reality. Here’s how creativity is a vital tool for humans. Often, our default setting is set to build anxiety and stress with the focus of our thoughts and words during high pressure times. A fear of the unknown can become hard to bear and take over our thought life. Creativity allows us to approach life with a new focus and a colorful lens. Where your focus goes, it grows. We can be creative by making new decisions to focus on thoughts of gratitude and ease. Silence the inner critic and turn your thoughts to gratitude. Consider focusing on finding the light during your difficult times.
Instead of: “I don’t matter because I am so lonely.”
Say: “Each breath is evidence that I matter. I am grateful to be alive.”
Instead of: “No one understands what I’m going through.”
Say: “I am not alone in this human experience. I am established by love and free to choose a new perspective at any moment.”
Instead of: “I’m losing my mind.”
Say: “I help generate happiness by nourishing my mind with gentle thoughts of compassion.”
Use Creativity to Speak Life with Affirmations and Acknowledgements
Use creativity to speak life to yourself and others during times of grief. Our words create pictures. When we become mindful of the hidden patterns in what we think and say, we open our world to more possibilities. During times of grief, you can make new decisions for your thoughts and actions. You can take advantage of the opportunities you have to create hopeful pictures of love and abundance. You can state affirmations out loud each day and work on replacing unfruitful thinking with positive ones. Also, acknowledging yourself and others with compliments and appreciation welcomes kindness and joy. Consider being more intentional about your creations. Speaking life to yourself and others creates beautiful pictures of love, hope, and ease during the most difficult times.
Ways to Speak Life:
- Affirm Out Loud: “I am a collector of joy in my moments.”
- Make an Acknowledgement: “I appreciate my willingness to make learning fun and build skills that help me flourish in my state of being.”
- Make an Acknowledgement to Another: “You make me smile each time I hear you laugh. I am grateful for you.”
Use Creativity to Prioritize Self-Care and Mental Wellness
Use the power of creativity to transform your life with your behavior. Creativity is the ability to see the world in new ways. During the holiday season, I encourage you to see this time as a great opportunity to apply creativity by prioritizing self-care and mental wellness. Self-care is not selfish. It is a gift to yourself and those connected to you. Imagine that your mission here on Earth includes filling your cup with love first, so it runs over to others. Self-care can be anything you do that proves to be healthy for your growth, mental health, and ability to feel alive. Find a new approach to your moments by caring for yourself with things that provide “feel good” feelings. You can prioritize self-care to manage the times of grief.
Ways to Prioritize Self Care
- Set a timer on your phone for bedtime at a reasonable hour
- Hire a life coach, counselor, and/or therapist
- Commit to doing something fun each day
- Schedule the appointment you’ve been putting off
- Choose something new to learn
During the holidays and times of grief, you can use creativity to transform your moments. Creativity is a strategy and tool that creates joyous stories, and miraculous beginnings. There is so much power in creativity even in times of grief. Creativity is the hope of accessing joy and gratitude despite our moments. The movement of creativity allows us to dance in the rain and in the sun. One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and others is choosing valuable perspectives, new experiences, and using meaningful tools that bring more health and life. You are loved and here on purpose because you can create with your thoughts, words, and actions.
Vivacious Vibe Guide 