It’s the end of the year. The time when we gather together with family and friends to share warmth, to share food and drink, to share memories – to celebrate being human, and to celebrate love.

But for many people, including myself, Christmas and other winter holidays are really, really hard. Maybe they remind us of loved ones who are no longer with us. Maybe it’s our first holidays without a specific loved one. Sometimes we are far away from our families and friends, and the winter holidays, with the darkness and cold, remind us of the distance between us and our loved ones. And sometimes the sacharine sweetness of all the songs and forced cheer is just way too much.

It’s okay to feel that way. It’s okay to want it all to go away. It’s even okay to feel a mix of all the emotions, joy and loneliness, laughter and tears, happiness and heartbreaking pain.

It’s okay.

And it’s okay to celebrate all the messiness that comes with being human.

I hope these affirmations help you celebrate all the joys and the pains of being human.