Modern Christmas often asks for obligation over devotion. It offers dopamine spikes instead of nourishment. This year, my body is rejecting the excess. The noise, the sugar, the performative 'busyness'—my body processes that as inflammation and overstimulation, not celebration.

It’s okay to outgrow inherited rituals. If the church pews feel rigid and the consumption feels heavy, it doesn't mean you've lost your faith or your gratitude. It means your spirituality has become more earth-honoring and real…

There is grief in this transition—in seeing the magic turn into performance. But on the other side of that grief is a different kind of winter. One that is quiet. Sacred. Intentional.

We have the right to take up space in our own lives without rushing to meet an expectation that no longer fits.