THIS year’s Christmas work holidays are a bit longer. Aside from all the parties and get-togethers, what are you planning for those free days? For me, I would do my 3Rs—Rest, Recreation and Reflection.
REST
THIS is the first “R” that I allot time for. Aside from physical rest, I also consciously rest my mind. I would spend a longer time getting out of bed in the morning, even if I have already woken up. I would take my sweet time in the shower listening to my “soulful” playlist. I would even take a priceless nap in the middle of the day.
I read an article written by the American Psychological Association, titled “How Stress Affects Your Health.” According to APA’s 2012 Stress in America survey, stress keeps more than 40 percent of adults lying awake at night. To help ensure you get the recommended seven or eight hours of shut-eye, cut back on caffeine; remove distractions, such as television or computers from your bedroom; and go to bed at the same time each night. So during my planned rest days, I plan to keep my gadgets far from my reach and turn off any screens.
RECREATION
FOR me, holiday recreation is family time. It can be a trip. It can be simple family activities, like figuring out a new home gadget, playing basketball in the park, or sharing our old childhood games like jackstone. I love activities that involve exploration and discovery. I feel it fosters our family to find answers together. If an office has team-building exercises, I see recreation as our family team-building time.
REFLECTION
REFLECTION for me involves triggers. In holidays where I am home, I love going through my stash of memorabilia. I love going back in time to remember how I felt, what I learned and why I am grateful for that memory today. Other triggers for me include a good book, my digital photo folders and my favorite—movies.
My favorite genres are romance and those based on real-life stories. Especially when I travel, I like to type down nice quotes from the movies. I like to be evoked with questions of “would you decide the same way?” and “would you have the same strength?” After a movie, I would write a short reflection. Through the years, I have shared these reflections with my kids. Later on, they would also do the same with the movies they have watched without me. More often than not, they would invite me to watch the movie over again with them just to see if we have the same reflection. Today, movies have become a great way to get to know my kids better.
Below are some of my reflection movie recommendations, as well as my brief notes about them:
1. ‘A Walk to Remember’—This is a touching story based on the book by Nicholas Sparks.
Landon Carter (Shane West) relays his story on how his love for Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore) transformed his life out of his troubled high-school past. He ends up entering medical school and, more important, recognizing the meaning of “Faith.” I have seen this movie at least 10 times after it came out in 2002. I shared to Meagan (my daughter) why I cried so much while watching this movie. I shared to her how losing people we love makes us realize the memories made with them will never be enough. There is always that regret that we never got to spend enough time. I told her I made that mistake with my grand aunt, who was my tutor and “defender.” After that, I made a resolve to take care of the people I love and build as many memories with them while I can.
2. ‘Love, Rosie’—I came across this movie because I was looking for another film where the lead actor in Me Before You was in. I love this movie because it’s about decisions and consequences. It made me realize that if we constantly cloud our decisions with fear, it makes our route longer to get to where we really wanted to be.
3. ‘Little Women’—I watched this movie when I was in high school. I was not an avid reader of Louisa May Alcott. I watched it because we were also four girls in the family. I rewatched th film in a flight from LA this year because I was curious how it would make me feel now that my family circumstances have changed. What I took in this time was what true family would do for each other. Jo March sacrificed selling her hair for the mom’s train ticket to see their father. Laurie, their neighbor and not related to them, was always there like a brother. My favorite line in the movie, “Jo, you have been given so many extraordinary gifts. How can you expect to live an ordinary life?”
4. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’—This is one of the movies that my daughter insisted I watched, so she saw it again with me. The line I wrote down was from Freddie Mercury’s father: “You can’t be proud of who you are if you do not love yourself.”
5. ‘The Art of Racing in the Rain’—This is a recent movie I watched on a flight starring Milo Ventimiglia from the TV series This Is Us. I remember thinking how much can one take after losing one’s wife, your son being taken away and not having the financial means to fight your best. And yet, no matter how late, you are able to claim your rightful course because you pushed forth.