Whatever you are celebrating this time of year: Hanukkah, Christmas, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, the New Year, etc., I wish you Happy Holidays! With the world economy at such a low point, happiness may not be easy to find, yet we need to make peace with whatever is at hand.
As a bipolar abstract artist, my best way to get through this season is to keep working. Otherwise, I am prone to depression. We here in the US are having our shortest days of the year. I've had bronchitis for a month, now finally going away, and I can never recreate the wonderful Christmases I had as a child.
My daughter Blixy and her children are coming over later to celebrate Hanukkah with Adrian and me. Tomorrow we are going to my sister Laura's to spend Christmas with her family. It will all be fine, yet I know I will be disappointed. That is the nature of this season for me. Understanding myself helps, it really does.
For those of you who are also disappointed, take this time to do something creative. If you are an artist, make art. Make music. Dance. Write. Build something.
I always spend part of the end of the old year reviewing my life and thinking about what I want for the next year. This is a common tradition and perhaps a cliche, but still a valuable exercise. It gives us hope of renewal and a promise to ourselves to follow our best inclinations instead of our worst.
