I was only four years old when my mother first told me that I was adopted. The news sent me into panic, and something inside me froze.

The shock of the situation was so great that it triggered a drastic change in me. Up until that moment, I had always been a very affectionate, innocent child. Afterward, I started to avoid all physical contact. I wriggled uncomfortably whenever someone tried to embrace me; I hated being touched in any way. I decided that overtures of love could not be trusted, because the people who loved me had lied to me. I came to expect dishonesty from anyone who showed me affection, rejecting all who came too close.

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It’s 2012, the year that has been touted as the end of the world. The end of the Mayan calendar. The apocalypse. Between hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and wars, it can be easy to buy into the doom and gloom. [Insert ominous music here.]

Whether you believe in the predictions or not, one thing is certain: if you want to live your best year ever, live it as if it were your last! Risking, growing, and stretching beyond your wildest dreams is required. And you’re going to have your Inner Critic to contend with. You’ve got to go green on your inner pollution.

It’s that time of year again. The holiday season is upon us. Which means most of us, for better or for worse, will be with our families. Being with family — though familiar — can inspire a sense of dread. As we approach Grandma’s house (or Aunt Jude’s, Dad and Mom’s, our brother Ted’s, etc.), we roll our eyes and prepare to be treated the same way we were treated when we were the adorable five-year-old or the rebellious sixteen-year-old. Rarely do we experience a full and welcoming embrace of our present-day selves; instead, we are constantly shadowed by the memory, stories, and expectations of who we once were, sometimes in stark contrast to who we’ve become or would have liked to become.

The holidays are full of pressures to be glad even if you don’t feel that way. People talk about “holiday cheer,” “finding the silver lining,” and “looking on the bright side,” all of which are fine when we feel those things but can actually add to feelings of loneliness and depression when we don’t. There is also a certain kind of “holiday tyranny” in which we are encouraged to hide how we’re actually feeling, for the “sake of the holidays.”

We are meant to feel what we feel when we feel it, then let it go. Most people don’t know how they’re feeling or that it’s okay to feel it. We are not taught how to have or hold multiple feelings simultaneously, so many people choose one and cling to it. That one feeling might be described as happy or sad, but it’s not a true reflection of our complexities as humans, and results in our feelings not flowing. Instead they get stuck or other feelings are left untended.

The idea of eating with mindful awareness on Thanksgiving Day may seem like a bit of an oxymoron. In fact, the word holiday is more synonymous with such things as indulgence and overconsumption than anything else. In fact, it’s been said that the average caloric intake on Thanksgiving Day runs about 4,500 calories per adult. That’s a whole lot of turkey with all the trimmings, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin pie with ice cream! Perhaps you have tried to eat moderately. Any well-intentioned plan to eat moderately and healthfully during the holiday season can be hijacked by events, persons, or food cravings that seem out of your control. If so, you may have unknowingly encountered “food static” — which I define as any food-related message that triggers unbalanced and compulsive eating, negative feelings, overwhelming emotions, and stress. Fortunately, I have three tips for eating moderately during the holidays using one-minute mindfulness, and I’d like to share them with you. One-minute mindfulness means that in any given sixty seconds you have the power to change your direction by turning on your full awareness.