It's Christmas Again Already?

How did that happen? One minute Christmas seems reassuringly far away and the next minute it’s just around the corner. I’m not entirely ‘bah humbug’ about the whole thing – after all, any opportunity to celebrate with champagne is always welcome – but the yuletide season pressures are more than a little off-putting. The parties are great, but the high-stress preparations for the big day are as anti-fab as it gets.

So here’s my promise for the week – no suggestions on things to do, other than to relax, have fun and enjoy the break. Sod the self-improvement – just cut yourself some slack and have a good time!

The emphasis at this time of year may always be on giving, but it’s also a time to receive, so if you’re the one who’s always looking after everyone else, let someone look after you for a change. Let this be a Christmas where if someone offers help, you take it.

In the spirit of the season, here’s a light-hearted tip on inner peace that was emailed to me by a friend. It’s an oldie, but a goodie …

I'm passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives.

By following simple advice heard on the Dr Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished."

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a packet of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel! Please pass this on to those who you think might be in need of inner peace.

If that particular tip doesn’t appeal to you, then let me introduce you to my latest relaxing pastime – creating online Jackson Pollock style paintings. You’ll be amazed at how therapeutic this can be, when you just need a quick break from a stressful day. Go to http://www.jacksonpollock.org/ and move the cursor to start painting. Click to change colours and enjoy creating your own masterpiece of modern art.

Finally, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a present or two, so here’s a collection of free meditations, e-books and interviews provided as a gift by a group of Hay House authors, including health guru Crystal Andrus, intuitive trainer Sonia Choquette, past life regressionist Denise Linn, medical intuitive Carol Ritberger and shaman Alberto Villoldo. To claim your gifts, go to www.colettebaronreid.com/poster.html and click on each of the twelve little red boxes.

Have a joyful, peaceful and fabulous Christmas!

Click through to the Coach Fabulous advice column by using the link in the Favourite Sites section on the right or by going to http://coachfabulous.blogspot.com. For alert emails on new postings, email subscribe@iamfabulous.co.uk. All material © 2006 Alison Porter. No article may be reproduced in full or in part without the express permission of the author. (Originally posted 18 Dec 06)