Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.  -Peg Bracken

Why is it that at the Christmas season, we often feel the most curt and strained with those who we love and who love us most? We rush “home” (wherever that may be), split time between different sets of in-laws, parents and family members and end up feeling strained by the relations that we must maintain once a year. The times when siblings, step children, cousins and whole clans come together, is often the time we dread most. But it can be different this year. Instead of falling prey to thoughts of separation and division, allow the heart to tear down the walls of division and begin to bring compassion into the dining room and the parties you attend. Take the yoga, the meditations, the lessons learned throughout the year and allow apply them through these sometimes stressful situations. Moments of mindfulness combined with feelings of compassion and kindness for others can transform the challenging moments into gifts that can be treasured for a lifetime.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.