That sounds really fun! Friendliness, compassion, delight, and indifference...isn't that what holidays are for?

The trick during the holidays (and the wisdom of this aphorism from the Yoga Sutras) is to cultivate those comfortable feelings even when they don't come naturally.

If we're suffering from some holiday unhappiness, says the sutra, we should nourish friendly feelings toward people who are happier than we are. If we're on a high, we're reminded to care for those who are less fortunate.

This sutra tells us that the fate of others is the pepper to our salt, the meat to our potatoes. Lacking a connection to people different from us, we're as boring and incomplete as a plate full of peas.

But with the connection held in proper alignment, the family, friends, and strangers around us lead us to the deepest calm imaginable. This is worth cultivating, a crop that bears fruit even in the dead of winter.

Holiday blessings,  

Fay and Mid