Satisfied? Uncertain? Perplexed?
Happy Easter! Or was it? The Easter break is a rare four day long long weekend. For many of us that means no work and an opportunity to redefine our daily routine. While we might have been looking forward to it, the cost of having time off is that we have 2 shorter weeks to potentially cram the usual 10 days of work to within just 4 days before and 4 days after Easter. This can be very tiring and stressful. During this short holiday break the shops generally close for 24 hours on Friday, family and friends probably expect to see us and we often imagine getting more done than is actually possible. We often have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved and those uncomfortable feelings may be apparent as the anticipation and actualisation of it all becomes overwhelming.
The Encyclopaedia Australiana suggests that most Australians Celebrate Easter in any of the following ways;
1. The Death and Resurrection of Christ. Around 50% of Australians attend one or more church services or related events, eat hot cross buns and focus on the meaning of the cross.
2. Chocolate. It's indulgent and absolutely delicious! The total spending around Easter is unsurprisingly high and relates mostly to the purchase of Easter related goods.
3. Easter shows. These occur in most states but in Victoria The Royal Children's hospital Good Friday Appeal takes precedence. Victorian's were incredibly generous in fundraising for the Appeal this year achieving a staggering record breaking total of $17,605,662!!
4. Holidays/Camping. It's the end of the school holidays so these few days can be the best opportunity for families to take advantage of the four-day long weekend and get out of town.
5. Home renovation projects. Many people take the opportunity to spend some extra time at home and get some jobs done.
The benefits of having a long long weekend are that we potentially have time to rest, to play, to connect, to catch up, to give and for many to reflect and remember. Unless we plan and take time to prioritise these things, then we can miss out on achieving that which we most want and need to do.
How do you feel about your Easter break? Was it as you thought it would be? To anticipate is defined as 'to expect or predict what might be, to think likely, to contemplate the possibility of or to allow for or prepare for...something.' While we cannot plan for the unexpected, we generally feel better if we think about what we'd like to include and what helps us to feel satisfied and how we might bring this about. While we don't want to give too much credence to false hopes and expectations we also need to make some allowance for other's to have input too. This can help to alleviate some of the frustration when things don't go exactly to plan. It's a delicate but important balance as it involves communication and relationships. Weighing up the cost and benefit of the decisions we make, the impact these may have on us and those around us adds weight to the significance of the choices we make.
Whether you feel that you were successful or not in making the most of the four day long long weekend is not as important as to whether or not you allow these successes or failures to define you? What went well? What did you miss? Who might you need to reconnect with? What might you do differently next Easter Break in order to address any confusion? Recognising how all of this impacts us holistically, can help us to assess what we are thinking and feeling about ourselves, others and life both during and beyond these few days.
Easter gives us an opportunity to search for meaning and to redefine ourselves. Identifying what we need and consequently choose to include in our lives can help us to feel satisfied. By making choices that align with our desires we can alleviate some of the uncertainty. By letting go of the things we have no control over and by accepting perplexities as a normal part of life, we can free ourselves from the need to make things comfortable or impossibly perfect. Our success and failures remind us that we are human. They impact us and we can learn from them but but they do not need to define us.
If you're feeling stuck...
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