Chosen Friends & Family

Article publié sur le site: 22 déc. 2025
Chosen Friends & Family
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Holidays:  Returning to Connection with Friends, Family, & Our True Nature

The holiday season arrives quickly but quietly, carried on colder air and earlier sunsets. Yellow lights appear in windows, kitchens grow warmer, and conversations stretch a little longer into the evening.  Yet, beneath the traditions and gatherings, there is something deeper unfolding — a collective longing for connection.

Not just connection with one another, but with the world that holds us.

Connection: Remembering What Truly Warms Us

During the holidays, we often notice what we crave most is not abundance, but presence.
... A shared meal ... 
... A familiar laugh ... 
... A moment of being truly seen ...

Connection in this season is gentle rather than loud. It shows up as:

  • Reaching out to a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while

  • Sitting together without needing to fill the silence

  • Cooking side by side, hands moving in quiet rhythm

  • Sharing stories that soften with time

The holidays remind us that connection is not something we manufacture — it is something we allow.

Friends: Chosen Family and Shared Humanity

Friends often become our chosen family during the holidays — companions who walk beside us through the year and gather with us at its turning point.  There is something grounding about meeting each other again in the same season, year after year, carrying new stories while honouring old ones.

Friendship during the holidays is built in small, meaningful gestures:

  • A handwritten note

  • A walk taken together in the cold

  • A candle lit in someone’s home

  • A meaningful chat over tea that says, “I enjoy being myself with you.”

These moments weave a quiet web of belonging — one that reminds us we are not alone.

Nature: The Original Gathering Place

While the world becomes brighter indoors, nature grows quieter. 
... Trees rest ...
... Fields sleep ... 
... Animals conserve energy ...

The natural world models a wisdom the holidays invite us to remember:  stillness is not emptiness ... it is richly full with the vibrance of life itself.

Nature offers its own form of connection during this season:

  • Bare branches silhouetted against winter skies

  • Snow or rain softening the edges of sound

  • Crisp air that clears the mind and steadies the breath

  • Long nights that encourage reflection and rest

Stepping outside — even briefly — reconnects us to something ancient and shared. Nature becomes the silent host of the holidays, holding space for us all.

A Season of Shared Presence

At their heart, the holidays are not about perfection or performance. They are about returning — to ourselves, to each other, and to the quiet intelligence of the natural world.

When we slow down enough to notice, we realise that connection is already here — in shared warmth, new & familiar voices, and the steady rhythm of the earth beneath our feet.

The holidays are an invitation to gather — not just around tables, but around what truly matters.



The presence inside our hearts.







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