MANITOU SPRINGS — Thanksgiving is exactly a week away, and even though it's meant to be a day for families to cherish, sometimes these holidays can put a strain on relationships.
But there there's a *free* event which will help you learn tips on how to de-stress and enjoy the holidays.
The meet-up is Thursday morning from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the Manitou Arts Center.
Anyone is welcome to join, you just need to bring your own bagged lunch.
The woman behind the event, Marlene Milner. refers to herself as a transformational coach.
Through this gathering, she's hoping to chance people's outlook on the holidays, so they can be as merry as possible.
"Why not do something for yourself that is free?" she asked.
"And come and breathe and relax and share and be safe and hopefully open up some new possibility."
Milner says many times when we get together with family we haven't seen in a while, there can be old triggers that set off some adverse emotional reactions.
"Most of us can relate to that, especially when family members that we haven't seen come and join us," she explained.
"And we're trying to think, "What are we going to do now? How are we going to do this? This is a bummer!'"
The most important tip is to be as honest as possible when it comes to addressing these concerns.
"If we had spoken our truth in the first place and gotten the environment and the situation to a place where we fell peaceful inside, all that resentment, tension, stress and everything - doesn't even appear," she emphasized.
Milner says it's also important to look within yourself. and find the root of the problem.
"What I want to help people do is give them a toolbox so that they can be joyful, they can have the kind of holiday that they want," she said.
"And it's really about thinking about oneself first. And I know that sounds selfish, but it's really not because we're the only ones who know what's best for us."
Milner added that as long as those concerns you're voicing to your loved ones come from a place of love - and not blame - the issues can be worked through, and you're more likely to get a positive outcome.
