December 12th, 2025
“Contemplating Christ” by Naomi Leach
Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love
By Ali Keller
I’ve had so many conversations this holiday season about feeling exhausted and burned out. I, too, have been feeling like 2025 has flown by and I was barely able to catch my breath before the holiday season kicked in. As a kid I don’t remember feeling like this. Back then, time moved slowly. It felt like there was a full year between Halloween and Thanksgiving and then another full year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holiday season was full of lovely and heartwarming events and moments that I could be present in and cherish. But nowadays it feels like time flies and the celebrations are over in a blink of an eye. And that got me thinking about the difference between waiting, anticipating, and preparing during the Advent season.
When I was little, I attended a lot of events in and out of Church this time of year, but everything was newer. I was more present because I was learning things for the first time – like what each of the advent candles stand for: Hope, Peace & Preparation, Joy, and Love. I was taking time to process those themes each week of catechism. In adulthood, it seems like I’m focused on getting through the work week and lining things up for the next year fast enough so I can actually take a few days off before January 1st. And then when I do, I’m too tired to enjoy them! I’m always waiting for work to slow down, waiting for the new year, waiting to feel refreshed. But instead, I’m just left in a perpetual state of exhaustion. I asked myself: How do I break this cycle and slow down? How do I reconnect with the four candles of the advent season without sacrificing my artistic practice (or getting fired from my day job)?
This year end, I’m incorporating more anticipation and preparation. I’m making a list of all the things I love about Christmas ahead of time so I’m looking forward to the holiday instead of waiting for it. Cooking for friends, going to church with my parents, spending Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family, giving gifts to my loved ones – these are all things that make me feel gratitude, joy, and love. And how can I spread those things to others? Even just taking a little time to think about those things during the day has made the days feel a little slower and a little calmer. They make me more excited to celebrate. Actually, they make me feel like I already am celebrating. I’ve grown more curious about what else I can be doing for my loved ones, for charities – what else can I do that’s in the spirit of Jesus’ love? And suddenly instead of “waiting” I’m anticipating all the good things that will happen this season.
December can so easily be taken over by new year’s resolutions. What did you accomplish this year? Did you stick to your goals? What are your goals for next year? And that can be wonderful or demoralizing – depending on where you’re at. Especially for artists. This past year, I had my Off-Broadway debut as a writer. It took me so long to get there and what I was asked most was “What’s next?” And depending on my headspace that question made me feel thrilled people were excited about my work or feel awful because I wasn’t sure what or when the next project would be.
I love to set goals, but sometimes they’re not truly right or aligned for me. I switch up my goal setting system a little bit every year. And this year I’m starting with the list I made above and thinking of how I can use my resolutions to extend those feeling into the entire year. How can my goals not only reflect things I want to accomplish for work or health or myself but how I want to feel. How do I want to bring more hope, peace, joy, and love to entirety of next year? It takes off the pressure of looking back and judging 2025 as successful or not. It feels like I’m taking stock of what brought me positivity, so I ensure that comes with me into the new year. Setting those kinds of goals makes me excited for 2026 because they’re aligned with the wonderful feelings not only of the advent season – but all year long. I’m preparing for those goals now and it’s making me feel anticipatory like when I was little: waiting for Christmas with excitement during the long winter weeks after Thanksgiving. Instead of feeling the exhausted sense of “what’s next for you?” or “deadlines” or rushing the next external “accomplishment”, I feel still excited to see what happens as I step into the Christmas season and 2026. And in stillness and peace is when I feel most connected to God.
Wishing everyone who reads this a wonderful holiday season filled with Hope, Peace & Preparation, Joy, and Love!