20 Ways To Feel Okay If You Are Alone These Holidays

If 2020 has been difficult for everybody, we must remember that these difficult times are especially difficult for people who are alone. But….enough of commiserating ourselves. There is plenty to be grateful for, and so many things to do, think, say, and create, that all of our energy can and must be placed in enjoying the Holidays or at least, feeling okay.

We are still under mandates and measures to protect people from getting COVID-19. Putting aside politics, conspiracy theories, vaccines, and whatever else people are talking about, please remember to follow the guidelines: wear a mask, wash your hands often, remain 6 ft. apart, sanitize your home and whatever else you can, take care of your body and nutrition, sleep well, remain optimistic about life even in the midst of uncertainty.

Here are 20 ways to enjoying being alone during the Holidays:

Get out of your room and enjoy the sun, the wind, the fresh air. Even if you do this only for a few minutes each day, do it. Whether you stay in your patio or backyard or go to a park nearby, get out while staying in your town or city of the Holidays.
Buy yourself a Christmas present. Anything regardless if it is cheap or expensive.
Stand up and stretch often.
Dance if you can. If you live alone, put on some music, and start moving.
Be grateful for what you have, even if you don’t believe that you are a recipient of a good number of blessings. Sometimes it helps to make a list of all the little things you are grateful for: Your health, your home, your heater, your friend, the television shows you watch or the films you stream…every little blessing counts.
Walk around the block without thinking. It works, especially if you are bored. Don’t think too much, put on a jacket, get out of the house, and start your walk around the block. That little movement will do wonders to your body.
Get a mini Christmas tree or at least poinsettias. Because of the meaning we attribute to them, Christmas trees have the power of warming up the heart.
Send a Christmas card even if it is just to one friend. Write down Happy Holidays on a piece of paper and stick it in the fridge.
Get a cheap puzzle; Designate a table to work on it. Open the box. Have fun!
Make a phone call to a friend or two you have not to talk to in years.
Call a family member and ask them about their life and what they are grateful for.
Volunteer at a church, a shelter, or bring a meal to someone living on the streets; and when you do that, be nice, be gentle, be compassionate.
Read a good book. There are so many these days!
Urban hikes, if you live in a city, give you a new perspective on neighborhoods. There is nothing like going a-pié to see a block close and personal. If you live in a small town, get outdoors and get to know the mountains or the river or desert, whatever it is you are surrounded by. Hiking is good for the soul and great for the body and mind.
Make a wish list for 2021. It could be about places to visit, things to buy, learn, or do.
Write or remember the most 3 happy moments of your life.
Listen to Christmas Carols and Christmas music.
Google this: “The Best Christmas Television Commercials of All Time,” watching them will fill your heart with warmth and happiness. You may shed a tear or two.
Enjoy a glass of wine.
Read a poem, something about peace, solace, generosity, tolerance, forgiveness, or love.

It is December 2020, and we still are under the pandemic. Uncertainty, financial stress, and the fear of getting COVID-19 continue. Everyone knows what is best for them and yet must follow current guidelines, considering all the warnings and alerts from the authorities. Whether you decide to be with family and friends, or see very few people or stay at home these Holidays, remember that inside of us is the key to feeling connected.

Please remember:
Loneliness is an emotional response to a lack of companionship. By all means, it is an emotion that can be felt by people who are alone or by those who are in the company of others. Alone-ness is something else: an attitude that helps you embrace who you are and where you are in life, and the same for solitude which a space beyond the physical for one to retreat and rest. In all truth, we are never alone, as we are all part of this vast, intriguing, and wonderful universe!

-Lupita Franco Peimbert, December 2020.