I have three wishes for women. They are based on what I have heard and observed over the course of many years interviewing mothers as a researcher and working with women as a coach.
I wish you time, space, and energy to develop inner PEACE.
Matthieu Ricard describes this as a practice in his book Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill. According to Ricard, this involves building and maintaining the calm deep inside of you. It is the quiet found at the bottom of the ocean even though a storm rages on its surface.
Despite the chaos of a busy life, I hope you find brief moments each day to connect with the depth within you that generates peace.
I hope that the work you spend most of your time doing brings you JOY.
To be more specific, I am referring to activities you find enjoyable because they are challenging, use your talents, cause you to lose track of time, and make you feel strong. They require your action–not someone else’s.
Quite often, they are things you already do but you may have taken them for granted. Giving them more recognition, therefore, brings more joy.
Finally, and most importantly, I want you to recognize the courage you have to LOVE.
Women are capable of so much love. They often love selflessly. Yet loving so deeply requires vulnerability. When we love, we expose ourselves to pain. It hurts when a loved one misunderstands us. It shakes us to our core when someone takes our love for granted.
Love requires us to be brave and strong. You are brave and strong.
This holiday season, whenever you see the words peace, joy, and love, please remember these three wishes for women and know that I also wish them for you!
While older versions of this article were published in December 2016 and December 2019, the wishes remain the same today and every day.