Tradition is the illusion of permanence. ~Woody Allen
A few months ago we decided that we needed to get away for a few days, take a break from this crazy thing we call life. The girls had the whole week of Thanksgiving off and what a better time to get away from the madness if but for a while. So, we started coming up with lofty plans of driving down to the Keys to lounge and relax. We did not mention anything to the girls right away for we thought we might get some push back for breaking the tradition of cooking the big meal on the actual day. As we got closer to the actual dates we realized that it just was not going to work to get down to the southern most point. We decided to modify our plans and stay closer to home and simply go over to Orlando. We were going to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at SeaWorld. So we let the girls know what we were going to do and to our surprise they were thrilled. Here we thought that they would not like to be away on Thanksgiving but it actually turned out to be a great time for all.
As we moved into the month of December we realized it was going to be our second Christmas in Florida. It is still funny to be in flip flops while buying a Christmas tree or spending a day at the beach instead of Christmas shopping.
This year we had plenty of family visits prior to the big holiday so we could celebrate early with the kids and give them a bit of "days gone by." We still had the tree, the cookies, the presents and the songs. It got me thinking about this constant idea of tradition. It is hard to not be attached to the way things used to be.
I think that if there is one thing that moving to Florida has helped me with that is embracing change.
Breaking tradition does not mean you have to leave what you used to do in the dust but it gives you the freedom to improvise. From spending Thanksgiving at SeaWorld to playing Frisbee on the beach on Christmas Day, we are creating new experiences and memories.
One of the ten yoga principles for living - aparigraha (not grasping) is a great way to remind us to let go. Let go of how we think things should be, material items and even people. I remember when I first started practicing yoga over ten years ago hearing about this idea of aparigraha from one of my first yoga instructors. At that time in my life I did not realize how simple and profound it would be for me years later.
What makes me laugh even more is that I think my children understand the practice of aparigraha better than I do. Here I was all worried about going to Orlando for Thanksgiving and in the end they could not have been happier. I mean really, what child would pooh, pooh that? What was really going on was that I was the one having the hard time breaking the tradition of sitting around a table eating large quantities of food.
In the end, this holiday season has been full of laughter, love and a sense of peace within our family. Knowing that old traditions are not forgot but that new experiences are always available.
May the joy and love of this holiday season continue within our hearts for the months to come.
Namaste
