At this busy and costly time Fifi, Physis Scotland’s Director of Training, is reflecting on how we can provide no cost but priceless gifts at Christmas. Enjoy Fifi’s blog post…
Christmas comes just once a year and it always seems no time since the last time. By the time you will be reading this you will no doubt be in the final throes of present buying and wrapping, putting up all the Christmas decorations, writing and sending of Christmas cards – not to mention planning the menu for the big day and the purchasing of all the food and drink we seem to need to survive. It can be a very busy and stressful time as we try to see as many of our friends and family over the period. No wonder we need a good break to recharge the batteries!
Christmas can often seem very materialistic and many of us often spend more money than we can afford to try and please people, not to disappoint people and to show how much we care for those we love. It got me thinking about our Script processes and how they influence how we view Christmas, how we behave at Christmas and also how we stroke self and others at this time. In preparation for our Foundation Year weekend this coming weekend, I reviewed A Warm Fuzzy Tale video on You Tube. This was a story written by Claude Steiner which is beautifully narrated by our colleague Rosalind Sharples TAC The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale – Claude Steiner. – YouTube It is a beautiful tale of a time when we had a never-ending supply of strokes to offer and receive, a time when we were not embarrassed to ask for strokes when we needed them and everybody felt alive and was thriving. This was until the wicked witch introduced a seed of doubt and suggested that we may not actually have a never-ending supply of warm fuzzies and if they were provided, they would not be real or authentic, so pretty worthless sadly. In the tale, folk soon stopped asking for or offering unconditional strokes.
Thankfully in the tale, there was a recognition that the world was a happier place when they were asking for, offering and receiving their warm fuzzies and so they started doing it again and the happy world was restored.
It strikes me that offering and receiving warm fuzzies cost absolutely nothing, in terms of money in those days and it is the same today for us. During this time of giving and receiving I wonder how we can really seriously and intentionally offer unconditional warm fuzzies to people we know and love and maybe also to complete strangers? This will mean genuinely noticing what we value about these people and in the moment letting them know rather than keeping it to ourselves. It may be about something they have done or said, or how they look but it might also be just because they are them. The more fuzzies we offer authentically, the more we will have in our bag – why not give it a go? It costs nothing but a bit of courage to notice and to let people know what we value about them. Even if they find our fuzzy difficult to accept, don’t stop offering them or asking for them…there really is a never-ending supply if we do this. Even giving these fuzzies provides a warm fuzzy feeling inside for us!
We are all facing another tricky Christmas with COVID issues still prevailing and illness causing problems in us potentially getting together and being with those we love and care for. But it doesn’t need to stop us asking for, offering and receiving warm fuzzies. They cost nothing but are absolutely priceless in worth when given genuinely. Let’s give it a go this Christmas?
All of us here at Physis Scotland wish you all of you a restful and safe Festive Season festooned with fuzzies.