How to Find Peace on Earth This Christmas
How to Find Peace on Earth This Christmas
The Global Peace Index found that global levels of peacefulness have deteriorated this year, even before new conflicts arose in the Middle East, which is only surprising if you’ve been living under a rock.
From global pandemics to social justice debates, society seems locked in an escalating conflict across several dimensions, and no side seems too keen on calling for a ceasefire. The public order can feel increasingly fractured when so many conflicts exist outside any one person. While individuals can’t end hostilities globally, we can at least find ways to begin healing ourselves.
Love Your Neighbor
“Love your neighbor” is such a simple phrase, but what does it mean? It doesn’t mean you have to spend all your days with Carl, who borrows the lawnmower, or take Sophie on a date just because she baked cookies for you. Loving your neighbor starts by treating those around you with mutual respect. We build community by accepting the people around us, even when their families or politics look different than our own. World peace may be moving beyond our reach, but inner peace starts with goodwill towards those around us.
Stop Fighting With Your Family
For many families, Christmas is a time to visit with relatives we don’t see every day. Unfortunately, these people come equipped with opinions about the world that may not match your own. Cousin Neil’s views on personal freedom or Nesha’s religious beliefs are wrong, so you must set them right. Before you know it, a civil war breaks out as both sides trade verbal potshots in a futile attempt to win the argument.
Before escalating a Yuletide conflict over ham and macaroni, focus on shared values instead of opposing sides. Talk about plans for the new year. Help with clearing away dishes and packing up the leftovers. Ask the young people about that Roman Empire trend you heard about. Your efforts to maintain peaceful relationships for the future will outlast the satisfaction of an argument won.
Seek Harmony At Work
We’d like to think of the workplace as a neutral ground where coworkers share the same goal: doing their jobs. The last thing we want in the workplace during Christmas is confrontation about “the reason for the season” or how the atheist in Accounting doesn’t share your religious values. Yet, everywhere we go, there we are. People carry their opinions wherever they go, so how can we maintain peace when others won’t keep to themselves?
In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie suggests two approaches to help you maintain calm during Christmas and beyond. First, avoid criticizing people. It often leads to hostilities and rarely wins them over. Second, avoid arguments with them. If someone insists on saying “Happy Holidays” in the break room, to your irritation, just smile and wish them well, too. A kind word to coworkers — even those you disagree with — goes a long way toward maintaining your own peace of mind.
Show Empathy to Your Loved Ones
Immediate family members are the ones we tend to have the most conflict with. While we usually experience coworkers and extended family members in the limited contexts of work and holiday gatherings, we see our spouses and children in every possible way. Like all humans, they change over time, replacing old traits with new ones, and the hectic holidays have a habit of magnifying those changes, making peace and quiet challenging to come by before the new year. How can we lower hostilities before exploding at those we love most?
Start by practicing empathy towards your family. Life is rarely calm, so keeping cool during stressful times begins with how you view those closest to you. Trust that your household members are trying their best in the chaos of daily life. Each has their own hopes and fears driving their actions as they discover their place in the world, just like you do. Trying to control your family can crush everyone’s Christmas joy. Remind them that your relationship matters, even when you have a conflict. Working towards accepting your family members goes a long way towards finding peace, especially when understanding is hard to find.
Find Your Happy Place
At the end of the day, finding peace during Christmas begins with you. Of course, this looks different for each of us. If you’re anxious about buying Christmas presents for the kids, examine how you’re defining the importance of the holidays for yourself and shift those expectations, giving yourself more grace in the process.
If concerns about your personal safety keeps you up at night, consider the long-term benefit of moving to one of the safest countries in the world. Make plans to boost your good health and well-being as you close out the year.
Whatever steps you end up taking, do what you can to create more harmony in yourself.
This article originally appeared on Media Decision.
Brett Andrews is an expat influencer and co-founder of Expatsi, a company that's helped thousands of expats on their moving abroad journeys. Brett and his partner Jen developed the Expatsi Test to recommend countries to move to, based on factors like budget, visa type, spoken languages, healthcare rankings, and more. In a former life, he worked as a software developer, IT support specialist, and college educator. When he's not working, Brett loves watching exploring new countries, reading unusual books, and pondering the wisdom of The Big Lebowski.
