Today I heard the first one of the season.
I have heard it so much.
I feel so deeply about these words.
They spill so easily
because they come out of real feelings
during the build up to Christmas
The words spoken were::
"I hate Christmas"
*
Working with people who say this.
Being with humans who can spill feelings freely
is a privilege
and I feel their hurt.
Listen out for those words in your every day life.
AND please share with me - and the feelings that
are triggered as the words enter your ears ...............
*
Here is a Christmas story.
It's a description of a piece of Group Work
with late teens/early twenties
all living in a homeless Hostel
all being supported during tough time in their lives.
Maybe you can take this and transpose it
into your own context?
*
................I started by giving each member of the group
a little Christmas tree the size if a 5 pence coin.
Then I asked what feelings they had - seeing - feeling this.
As usual, many have difficulty to contact how they feel.
Out-slipped words like
'I hate Christmas',
'I don't like Christmas',
I have no money to buy,
not even, one present.
I then moved to asking them who the main human characters were
in the Christmas story.
The first word uttered was 'Santa'.
Soon after there was a list of eight mentioned
(- come on - you can do this as I tell you about
a group work experience during the past week!)
Their names/descriptions went into a hat,
Jesus went into the hat too.
Each human then drew one out and
I went around the circle asking how they thought
that their one 'felt' - a feelings question.
Here are some stand-out feelings;
Mary - stressed
Joseph - scared/worried
Innkeeper - guilty
King - good-to-give
Shepherd - in awe
Angel - 'yes' ! - sorted!
Three humans in the story were noted as having negative feelings
and they were the main focus of the whole affair - as responsible adults.
The rich - feeling good to give,
not just receiving.
The tough rough/simple life style shepherd
- awe - overwhelmed.
The last one was a dead pleased Angel
who really knew that this was pretty good news ....
....... "YESSSSSSS"
Why do this?
Why did I do this in a group of humans?
1 I am on a journey to cultivate in myself, and others, an increasing ability to be able to get into contact my/their own feelings.
2 Looking at others and empathising is a learning process into sensitivity.
3 Articulating those feelings is a process of 'owning' such powerful things as feelings.
4 A human identification with a powerful historical spiritual human story.
5 Reality at Christmas - to escape the tinsel for some small moments ....
.... and it was stinking good .........
Why not try it on humans around you?
Adapt - of course.
You never know, they may be pleased to talk 'real'
midst the rest of the Christmas slippery slope.
I am 'being' with, during the past week,
humans who are this - amongst other things;
Visibly self harming
Severely depressed
Lost and uncertain
Lonely and afraid
No place like home to go at Christmas
Refugee
Deep feelings and disturbed
(the last one is me and I want to be disturbed!)
Thanx for clicking this way.
I will tell you straight -
I take value from you doing this.
and
I
want
to
comfort
the
disturbed
and
disturb
the
comfortable
.
