Reaching Into the Universe Dedicated to creating an enlightened world: spiritually fulfilling, physically healthy, socially just, and environmentally sustainable.

Holiday sustainability: the 3 considerations for getting more with less

The holiday season traditionally presents some particular challenges to sustainability, in the three key areas of life: personal, interpersonal, and environmental. What are these challenges and how can we gracefully sidestep them in order to get more of what we want: a happier, more peaceful, and meaningful ending to the year?

Personal reserves get taxed when they really need to be built up

Personal sustainability is possibly more challenged at this time than any other time of the year. Stress increases as we expend more energy—time, money, effort—than we want at a time that calls for more rest, not less. Energetically, fall and winter are about storing and saving our valuable resources and rejuvenating ourselves deeply so that we have enough to spring forth strongly when the seasons shift again.

Overextending ourselves during the winter depletes vital resources, which is the main reason people get sick more often during this time of year. The stress wears on the body and the psyche, and the negative effects ripple into the future. Limiting the holiday craziness now helps us avoid feeling limited for the entire rest of next year, and helps us build a great reserve of energy from which to grow and expand in the spring and ultimately bloom brightly in the summer.

Bottom line: give yourself permission to say No to doing more by saying Yes to doing less. Rest more. Choose not to push yourself farther. Listen to your body and your soul; get in touch with yourself through massage or similar processes to make it even easier on you.

Relationships get lip service when they really need real investment

Interpersonal sustainability can only happen when we focus enough time and energy on the people and communities we care about, and the hustle and bustle of the holidays can make it difficult to prioritize the exact things we say the holidays are supposed to be about! Meaningfulness is decreased when we spend our time and energy shopping for and affording “stuff” that we give to others, especially if the “stuff” itself is of questionable value. Will more objects enrich their lives as much as a truly useful gift, or as much as more time spent with you?

Bottom line: don't let the consumption that advertising says is supposed to be meaningful become a substitute for things that actually are. Give heartfelt gifts and quality time with each other to those you care about.

The environment gets treated as a backdrop when what it really needs is equal consideration

Gift giving has environmental impacts as well. All that manufacturing, shipping, packaging, and traveling to purchase has implications for both the planet and the receiver. Many a gift ends up simply taking space in the receiver’s life while its packaging takes up space in the community’s landfill.

Bottom line: consider the gifts that you give and how they'll fit in to the receiver's life and environment. Choose products with less or no packaging, use recycled or alternative gift wrapping, and give gift certificates for useful services rather than consumer products.

More, not less

None of this is to say stop exchanging gifts or stop having holiday fun. On the contrary, all of this is to encourage more holiday fun—deeper, more authentic, abundant holiday JOY—by bringing more consciousness to the process. Give gifts that are truly useful, meaningful, and sustainable, and don't wear yourself out in the process.

You’ll be taking better care of yourself, your loved ones, and your planet.

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