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TAMPA BAY • FEBRUARY 23-24 2026

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Holiday Who Ha

A few years ago I shifted to really enjoying what I love about the holidays. I cleared everything else off that list that lives like an invented book of Expectations/Demands for the Holidays. I write my holiday letter on Valentine’s Day. I decorate a fireplace mantel and a tree while listening to music I love. I watch holiday movies that remind me to keep healing/transforming.

I remember to support my inner Grinch in his grieving process. I hold his petulant hand because that part of me has felt, at times, like a lonely, resentful outsider who wants desperately to be carving the roast beast at a table filled with loving Whos. Or slicing and stir-frying marinated tofu while dancing in a warm kitchen receiving and giving hugs to the many Whos in my life now.

I wish for a time when all the people I love and who love me could be celebrated in a Gratitude/Laugh Out Loud Party at a beautiful nature location. This doesn’t have to happen in December.

This year I will celebrate with simple experiences of being with my daughter, my dear friend, Ruby, my dog, Layla, Miss Hailey, the cat, and my Sweet Love, who is all I really want for Christmas. He can sit under the tree with a bow on his forehead and I’d be overjoyed that this self-aware, gentle, kind, loving, and generous man chose me for another day.

What would you love to do right now? How many people can you say, “I love you!” to in the next 24 hours? How far and wide can you spread your love and appreciation for beloved ones, clients, colleagues, friends, salesclerks, strangers who held doors for you? Can you create this to be how you live your life each and every moment you’re on the planet? What if you are love? What if I am love? Ah, what then?

However you celebrate or choose not to celebrate the many wonderful holidays this season, I wish you- in the very core of you- peace, passionate, unwavering love, and the profound realization that you matter to our world.

May you know that you are loved more than you can even imagine. May you find expanding joy inside your grieving heart. May you know that you are love.

Laura Staley
Laura Staleyhttp://www.cherishyourworld.com
The founder of Cherish Your World, Laura Staley passionately helps people thrive by guiding them to a holistic transformation of space, heart, mind, body, and soul. Laura knows that there’s a relationship between the conditions of our homes or workplaces and the quality of our lives. Trained and certified with the Western School of Feng Shui and seasoned by almost two decades of working with a variety of clients, Laura uses her intuition and expertise to empower her clients to produce remarkable results in their lives. Her trifecta of serving people includes speaking, writing, and compassionate listening. As a columnist, Laura writes personal essays focused on self-discovery, feng shui, emotional health, and transformations from the inside out. Laura is the published author of three books: Live Inspired, Let Go Courageously and Live with Love: Transform Your Life with Feng Shui, and the Cherish Your World Gift Book of 100 Tips to Enhance Your Home and Life. Prior to creating her company, Laura worked as a fulltime parent and an assistant professor at Ohio Wesleyan University. She earned a Ph.D. in political science from The Ohio State University. Her joys in life include laughing with loved ones, dancing, reading, meditating, running, being in nature, and listening to music she loves. She resides in Black Mountain, NC with lovable dog, Layla. Laura is a contributing author to the inspiring book Crappy to Happy: Sacred Stories of Transformational Joy

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6 CONVERSATIONS

  1. Thank you for your article Laura. Love is at the center of it all, isn’t it? I learned that later in life and have had a wonderful instructor God blessed me with in the form of my lovely wife Sharron. So important that we take every opportunity to let our family & friends know how we feel…..and to let that love extend beyond our inner circle. Thanks for a great reminder! Merry Christmas.

    • You are so welcome, Mike! Yes, love is at the center of our lives! Right at the core. I’m thrilled to know you learned this, that you live this truth in your life of faith, and in your loving marriage with Sharron. What a blessing to let love lead the way each moment of our lives as best we can-and to remember when we might for a brief moment forget. I wish you and all your loved ones a very Merry Christmas, Mike! I appreciate you!

  2. So aligned with this, Laura. I’ve been doing the same with holidays for some time now, and love the simple gifts I receive by creating every holiday to flow at the pace of joy. This winter, I’m cherishing the simple gifts of friendship by creating several SimpliciTEA parties with 3 friends at a time. It’s a wonderful way for my introvert self to be nourished by my connective self’s desire to reach out to friends during this season of giving. Thank you for being another voice for joyful simplicity.

    • Thank you so much, Sora, for your reflections here and sharing ways you have simplified your holiday activities to be aligned with your heart. I celebrate you finding that balance of enjoying your own company and the company of cherished friends with your tea parties! Fabulous! Enjoy. May you continue to enjoy this season and each day in the new year. I appreciate you taking the time to read and share. Grateful. 🙂

    • Thank you so much, Larry! I appreciate you and wish you many blessings during this season and each day we get to be walking around on this big planet. I’m grateful to be a part of BizCatalyst360, to get to know you, and discover friendship. Thank you. 🙂

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