Each December, many of us rush through our days to complete our holiday tasks, trying to find the right gift. We experience increased stressed from holiday crowds, long lines, and traffic, or hours shopping online.
Yet there’s one gift that costs nothing but transforms everything. And it’s not available online. Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson has found that sharing “micro-moments” of connection with another person can relieve our stress, improve our mood, and reduce inflammation, increasing the physical and emotional health of both giver and receiver.
These heartfelt connections take only a moment and can be shared not only with close friends and family but anyone you encounter from the clerk at the store to the next person in line. A simple smile, eye contact, presence, perhaps a kind word—that’s all it takes.
This small gift can make a great difference, rippling out to touch the hearts and raise the energies of those we meet.
We can begin healing the stress and anxiety in ourselves and our world by reaching out to connect with the people around us– one micro-moment at a time.
What about you?
The next time you find yourself rushing, stop.
- Remember the gift.
- Take a deep, mindful breath and connect with someone around you
- With a smile, a kind word, or unspoken blessing.
You can challenge yourself each day to share this gift in three micro-moments of connection with:
- friends and family,
- neighbors,
- coworkers,
- the clerk at the grocery store, or
- anyone else you see.
Then notice how you feel and what a difference it makes.
I wish you many heartwarming gifts in this holiday season and throughout the new year.
Namaste,
Diane
Reference:
Fredrickson, B. (2013). Love 2.0: How our supreme emotion affects everything we feel, think, do, and become. New York, NY: Hudson Street Press.