Merry Christmas

If this season feels quiet, tender or different

Merry Christmas.

Not the loud kind.
Not the glitter wrapped, over performing kind.But the gentle kind.
The honest kind.The kind that meets you exactly where you are.

For some, today is full of warmth, family, laughter & tradition.
For others, it is quieter, heavier, more complicated.

And for many who are sober, Christmas carries its own particular texture.

A Christmas without numbing

Choosing sobriety means meeting the day as it is.

The memories.
The missing people.
The moments that ache a little.
The moments that surprise you with their sweetness.

There is no rushing past the feelings.
No softening the edges.
Just presence.

That takes courage.

Especially on a day that encourages distraction, indulgence & emotional bypassing.

If today brings mixed emotions

Let them be mixed.

You can feel grateful & sad.
Connected & lonely.
Peaceful & restless.

Hopeful & tired.

None of this cancels anything out.
It simply means you are human.

Christmas has a way of touching old layers.
The body remembers past Christmases.
Past losses.
Past versions of ourselves.

Sobriety allows those memories to surface without judgement.
Without running.
Without needing to fix them.

A different kind of celebration

Today might look like
a quiet morning

a walk in winter air
a long bath
a simple meal
a candle lit in honour of what has been lost & what has been survived

This counts.
This matters.

Celebration does not have to be loud to be meaningful.

A gentle wish for you today

May you feel safe in your body.
May you feel permission to rest.
May you honour the choice you have made to care for yourself.
May you trust that this quieter way of being is not lacking
it is deeply full.

Merry Christmas…Just as you are.
Right here.
Right now.

With warmth & compassion,
R♡se