Forgive me if I miscalculate and this is not what you need to hear. Here’s what I’ve been working on for the past 24 hours.
I know that one person who’s down can bring down a whole household. There have been times when I was that person. I didn’t see it at the time, but now I do.
I also know that even though one person can bring a household down, one person can’t bring a household up. Nobody can make other people be joyful and amiable.
Here is what I can do: I can make sure I’m not the person who brings down the household.
I’m not responsible for bringing it up, though. I can’t be in charge of everyone else’s happjness. I can’t manage it, force it, or control it. I can only manage myself.
And so I can make sure I’m not brought down.
If I do that, then—one person doesn’t bring down the whole household because I’m not down.
I put on some nice music. I bake something. I wrap presents. I try not to react badly when things don’t go right. I try to let go of my idea of what “going right” is. I try to be understanding and not judge. I remember all the things I have to be thankful for. And I try not to wear myself and others down by attempting to control things I can’t control.
I’m not perfect at this. I’m just working on it. You try too.