A healthy lifestyle is not just about nutrition and exercise. It is all encompassing: social, emotional, physical, intellectual, spiritual, environmental. Be healthy this holiday season. Here are some ideas on how to do that:

Socially – Be present. Put the phone away, and be all there. Jim Elliot once said, “Wherever you are, be all there.”

Emotionally – Let those loved ones know how much they mean to you.

Physically – Don’t neglect taking care of your body, even during the holidays. Stay active. Enjoy some treats, but know when to stop.

Intellectual – Don’t just sit on the couch and watch TV all break. Read a book. Play a board game. Think.

Spiritual – Celebrate this special season with joy, and let it carry into the rest of the year. Spread that joy to others. Give hope.

Environmental – Throw away your Christmas wrapping…don’t leave it on the floor for Mom to pick up.

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Enjoy Christmas. Not for the gifts, the surprises, the latest technology. Enjoy it for the “little bit more.”

Merry Christmas!