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“If you judge people , you have no time to love them.” Mother Teresa
I choose not to host Thanksgiving, but I do host Christmas.
For many years, I worked as a hotline crisis counselor on Thanksgiving day from 7 am-noon. Most of the callers feared the Thanksgiving family dinner for various reasons. Some of the callers described their emotions as feeling guilty for not living up to their parent’s expectations, anxious sharing the same room with their family members, and angry with themselves and their family members. At the end of the call, about half the callers chose not to attend the family gathering.
Are you fearful of celebrating Thanksgiving dinner with your family?
Choose evaluation, not judgment.
How to drop guilt, self-doubt, and anger:
Evaluate yourself, as well as the people you’ve known for at least three years, and your food. Pick one thing you like about yourself and your relatives and focus on that. It’s not easy to focus on the positive things but try.
