As wintery weatherscapes return like every year, you may be ticking off boxes in your to-do lists, doing some early Christmas shopping, planning a holiday, reflecting on the year that rolled by, or making resolutions for the upcoming year. It is that time of the year again! Celebrations are soaking up social settings. Unless you are in a parallel universe that follows a non-Gregorian calendar, you are exposed to the merriment and frolic of December – the last month of the year.

Psychologically speaking, processing the end of anything is not unlike unpacking a mixed bag of emotions because humans are fundamentally emotional beings. A sense of hope, immense gratitude, harsh lessons, apprehension, and a rush of adrenaline coupled with nostalgia unravel in my mindscape as I swiftly retrospect the year that has swooshed by!

Before I dive into sharing the ten quotes I penned recently, there is a fun fact I want to share about December pertinent to this write-up. Etymologically, the word December is formed from the Latin root decem- which means ‘ten.’ So, without further ado, here are my very own ten quotes for December:

1) As overwhelming as your to-do list or schedule feels, unburden yourself; take some time off to do things your soul loves. You’ll find immense solace in soulful, soul-stirring activities. Rejoice in the eternal wisdom that there is no beginning or end. There is a perennial spring in the magical chambers of your heart singing, “Now!” 

2) Yes, it is December. And no, you’re actually not going anywhere. You can jolly well pack your bags for that vacation on an exotic island but remember: your soul has no destination.

3) Presuming the world is a gigantic bubble and that you are feeling smothered by the world affairs around you, burst it open by bursting out of yours. You see, sometimes, the way out is in.

4) Dear December, merry music is my religion because it crosses dimensions and ferries me to the heavens! Honestly, have you seen that in a ferry!? 

5) Several blatantly obvious microaggressions in the world are being swept under the carpet time and again. It is not too late to begin a new chapter by unveiling and unscrupulously scrutinizing what is beneath the carpet. The more the suppressed material, the heavier the burden for the collective unconscious.

6) I hope that another term like ‘gaslighting’ won’t make it to the top of a dictionary in 2024 like it did in 2022. I hope that this hope prevails. The graver concern, however, is nonlexical.

7) The world needs more whistleblowers that permeate all layers of society to call out ‘microscopic crimes’ so that wars of sorts won’t be precipitated for posterity.

8) I know that Christmas is the festival of forgiveness and joy. What an adult Dorothy or Rodery did and repeatedly continued to do in the past cannot merely be dismissed and forgiven. One person’s vile behavior affects many other people’s futures. No amount of intellectualization, rationalization, or justification is acceptable in cases where the latter made their behavior a consistent goddamn choice. Even in perpetrators with a psychological malfunction, there is a thin line between a real excusable, forgivable behavior and feigned instability that is used as a weapon of escape.

9) All is not fair in love and war…particularly if it’s costing us more than we can afford.

10) We intelligent humans must pull up our (Christmassy) socks! Apparently, a hypothetical future awaits where Artificial Intelligence gains agency. What would happen to the agency of the Gen Cs?

That is all for now. Let me wrap up as you unwrap and unpack the gifts of the festive season. The most precious gift, though, is the gift of the present moment.

Knowing you have a few weeks before the new year unfolds, map out a vivid December that aligns with your highest self. Let your authenticity unwrap the gifts of your soul. This winter, may the eternal summer in your heart live on!