I Am Not Feeling the Holiday Spirit

A lesson on how to stop forcing things in your life

It’s Christmas Eve in Australia (I’m a couple of hours ahead of most of the world). I’m currently sitting at a beachside café, with waves crashing in the distance and the summer sea breeze tickling my nose. Yes, it sounds like a lovely holiday, but it doesn’t feel like Christmas. Whenever I visit my family here, I feel this way. In previous years, I’ve tried to force the Christmas spirit—I put up a fake snow-covered tree, attempted to drink hot chocolate in the scorching sun, and even wore a Santa hat to the beach.

But this year, I didn’t. Instead, I’m drinking freshly pressed juice, leaning into athleisure, and having a BBQ Christmas Eve dinner. And although it doesn’t feel like Christmas, it does feel better. Accepting that things won’t be the same as they would be in Vancouver or New York has allowed me to enjoy this experience for what it is. And that, I realize, is an important lesson.