This week, my guest post is from Nathan P. He has a nice poem for the snowy season, entitled Earthbound, hear him out:

Each snowflake drifts downward,

Like a feather from the sky,

To soon to be earthbound among its fallen friends.

Who can notice each snowflake that falls?

Or consider its single existence?

But each plays a part,

To become,

Snow.

Quoted from his replies to his readers about this poem:

“Snow is beautiful and its two properties of being cold and white make it a symbol for all things pure and clean.”

“Separate it may seem as if we are insignificant, but together we can be something beautiful, and powerful.”

Simple and well-written, using a natural phenomenon to portray something deep. Nathan sure has his way with words, which got me into thinking: We are all so small in this universe, with our own limitations; however, once united, we can make something happen. Same goes with blogging, it’s the power of voicing out and evoke awareness; the connection that links the fellow bloggers into achieving something big.

Nathan owns 2 blogs: Inkweaver Review & Imagination Manifesto. If you’re into literature, perhaps could have a look at his book reviews that comes in various categories; or indulge yourself in his creative works of poetry. Thanks to Nathan, I actually finished Bicycle Shop Murder within 3 days, and I can hardly remember when was the last time I ever read a novel. I miss the satisfaction, perhaps going to do that more often now.

Thanks again Nathan, for sharing something so beautiful with us.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today, I’m delighted to present the very first Guest Post for my blog, by Evan Hadkins. Evan writes a blog (www.wellbeingandhealth.net), which covers all aspects of health (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social). He also has a free email course on health and a free weekly newsletter that you can sign up for on his blog.

I’ve always find his posts inspiring. Apart from getting some tips about how to live a healthy lifestyle, there are topics covered about how to maintain good relationships, self improvements, and one of my favourite topics, living authentically. Now he even added ecology in his discussions as well. Without much further ado, let’s have Evan give us some pointers on how to:

Have a Healthy Christmas

Christmas may be the time of year where our ideals and the reality clash most strongly. How often is Christmas really joyful? Come Boxing Day we are often glad that Christmas is over for another year. I think it can be different – here are some ideas for a healthy Christmas (healthy for body, soul and spirit).

Eating Healthy at Christmas
In the book Mindless Eating (from the website: www.mindlesseating.org), Brian Wansink goes into great details about how the surroundings we eat in influencing how much we eat. (And if you are like me, you are very likely to overeat at Christmas.) To avoid over-eating here are two simple things we can do:

1. Use a smaller plate. If it is a buffet use a bread and butter plate and put a couple of things on it at a time, then go back to the buffet again. (You will usually end up eating less.)

2. Wait until someone else has started eating. We can also pause during our eating. Our bodies take a while to know we are full. Take a break of twenty minutes or so, you will then know whether you feel full or not. You are also less likely to end up with indigestion.

Exercise on Christmas Day?
In my family anyway Christmas is more about sitting around and eating than doing any exercise. Getting in some exercise may be challenging. I have one idea to help it happen.

Take the family and food somewhere other than home. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere (I live in Australia), where it’s summer, this is easier to do. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere then it may mean moving to an indoor venue somewhere. Have part of Christmas day somewhere that it is easy to do things that the people like doing. A park with walking trails or an indoor venue with something like a skating rink perhaps.

A Happy Christmas
There are lots of ’shoulds’ around Christmas. These are often unconscious and they can often lead to us doing things that don’t make us happy (or as happy as we could be).

My suggestion is to sit down and think. Maybe you could start with the following question: how shall I do Christmas so that everyone will be as happy as possible?

Just start by imagining: don’t worry about limitations, imagine you could have whatever you wanted. This is to free up your thoughts and get you out of thinking about Christmas in your usual way. Then you can start thinking realistically, about any changes you might want to make to the way you usually do Christmas.

You might change the kind of food eaten. How presents are given (what difference would it make if no presents were given?). The order things are done in. Altering the seating or the venue. The rituals for meeting and greeting and the topics talked about. There are lots of things to consider when thinking about how to make Christmas a happy time for everyone.

The Spirit of Christmas
Even those who are not identified as Christian will often endorse the spirit of giving at Christmas. I’m not criticising the giving of presents, but I do think that the crass commercialism can get in the way of the Christmas spirit.

Here are some ideas for getting away from the commercialism and more in tune with the spirit of giving at Christmas:

- Buy cards from charities, where the price of the card supports the charity.

- Buy presents from charities and organisations that use the funds to support charity and social justice activities.

- If it won’t offend them, instead of giving a present make a donation to the charity in another person’s name, let them know in a card.

- With close friends or family that you get on with, consider what it would mean to give of yourself to the others. It may mean doing something for them or helping them do something.

- Try telling those you are close to what kind of gift they are to you, or what gift they bring in to your life.

These are just a few thoughts about the spirit of Christmas, I’m sure you could think of many more. Please feel free to contribute more ideas for being in tune with the Christmas spirit, or how to have a happy and health Christmas, in the comments.

Wishing you a joyous, happy and healthy Christmas!