Last week I got to be on a Training Panel to help graduate students (and others interested) learn more about what it is like to be a Marriage and Family Therapist in Private Practice.  It was great!  
I really enjoyed passing on information to the students.  It was good as a Professional, to share and mentor some students who, in a few years, will be doing what I do.
I think of it as remembering the bigger picture, beyond ourselves and our own interests.  Sure, we need to take care of ourselves, but how about bumping that out and going a generation up?  Or going beyond our local community cares and bumping that out to caring and being involved in state, national, and world concerns too?  It's good to be involved and caring about the bigger pictures in our lives.  
​Pass It On.

I don't know about you, but I am already thinking of Spring and checking how many weeks I have to wait yet to start seeing those tender bright green shoots of crocus pushing up from the recently frozen earth.
Waiting is hard.  Especially on bitterly cold Winter days when the weather reporters warn you to not even risk going outside if you don't have to.

For me, I have several plans I put in place to get through Winter.  It helps me to have a "plan of attack" against the winter blues.  Here's a few of the things that have helped me in the past and still do...

Get outside anyways.  Especially on sunny days.  Even just parking a little farther away from the store when running errands gives you more time in the sunshine.  Bundle up at least once a week and take a nature walk outside (again, go for those sunny days!).  Notice the blue sky and white fluffy clouds.  Find a tree and see if you can see any tight buds starting to expand.  Feel the cold in your lungs and remember what a really humid summer day is like too.  

Eat well on a steady basis.  Drink lots of water.  Go ahead and have treats on occasion, but mostly eat low processed, nutritious foods.

If you can afford it, take a trip someplace warm every few years in January or February.  If you can't, go to one of the lovely botanical gardens or zoos with indoor displays and drink in the feeling of warmth "outside."  Pretend for awhile you are in a different climate.

Stay connected.  With friends.  With family.  Parents, plan some "play dates" for yourself as well as your kids.

Tap into your creative juices and do something that is relaxing and creative.  Think knitting, scrap booking, painting, even playing with playdoh! Kids love this stuff, and even though adults often stop being very creative with materials, it's good for us.  Really good for us and has a ton of mental health and stress relief benefits.  Even better, find a friend or class and do something creative together.  

Settle in to some quieter routines and relax.  Make them family times if you can.  Fireplaces, candles, conversation, games, cozy contentment stuff.  All the "hygge" stuff that the Danes are so good at can be done here in our homes too!  That means get off your phones and devices.  Really.  We live fast paced, competitive and media focused lives.  Shake it up and do it different at least once a week!  

Try some or all--and have a good Winter!
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