Anyone familiar with “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the iconic Dr Seuss tale that celebrates the essence of the Christmas spirit, will be very familiar with this quote:
“It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” – Dr Seuss
Life is busy. We all struggle to find enough hours in the day. Perhaps there is a lesson to learn from the spirit that surrounds this wonderful time of the year. It’s a time of goodwill to all. Families and friends get together and enjoy time with each other. That for us is the spirit that we would love to share throughout the year. After all, being present is one of the greatest gifts of all.
At the beginning of 2015, Polly Williams on her blog Polly Unsaturated spoke about her New Year’s resolution to give ‘presence’ not presents. Her decision was spurred on by a post-Christmas gift- fest and facing a February packed with birthdays and more presents. She had read an article about a theory called Stuffocation. Author, James Wallman believes we are moving away from the debt and stress of materialism – where we use stuff to declare status – and moving towards “experientialism” where we focus less on what we have and more on what we do. So Polly made a decision to fill their family year not with things, but with experiences. She shared each of these on her blog through 2015. What better gift than the gift of time. Your time.
There has been a big movement in western psychology towards mindfulness. It is a movement created in reaction to the feeling that we are often “not present” in our lives. We often fail to notice the good things about our lives, fail to hear what our bodies are telling us, or poison ourselves with toxic self-criticism. Very often, women are indeed their own worst critics. Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to and seeing whatever is happening in our lives. Its advocates firmly believe that it will not eliminate life’s pressures, but it can help us respond to them in a calmer manner that benefits our heart, head, and body.
Psychology Today defines it as “Mindfulness is a state of active, proper attention to the present. When you’re mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.” We think that taking a moment to acknowledge all the extraordinary things that we as women do, every day, is an excellent way to kick start a journey of being mindful. It is in these moments that we can appreciate life and all that we have. It is giving ourselves the gift of time.
If you want to know more about mindfulness and why its devoted followers advocate that it is an effective way to reduce stress, increase self-awareness, enhance emotional intelligence, and effectively handle painful thoughts and feelings, then the Mindfulness Works website has everything you need to know. They also offer courses all across New Zealand.
So as we wind down the year and get ready for the holidays, we hope that you will take a moment to reflect on just how extraordinary you are. We hope that you can take the time to enjoy and share special moments with friends and loved ones. We want to thank you all for your tremendous support in how you have embraced our new wine brand. We sincerely hope that you enjoy our wines, but most importantly that you get to enjoy them in great company, with people who make you laugh. After all that is the magic of wine.
From all of us at The Sisters Wine, wishing you all the very best for the holiday season and the New Year.
