I have been seeing a lot of advertising lately with this message:"Are you booked for the holidays? Are you so busy going to parties you don't even have time to shop for clothes to wear to them?"
The unspoken message here is "Don't you want to be booked? Wouldn't you feel happier and more successful if you were that popular person invited to all these parties?"
I think this is a very negative perspective, and I would suggest a different one.
Instead of being "booked" this holiday season, I am planning time with people I love and care about spending time with: my family, my boyfriend's family, and good friends, who may or may not be having parties. And following several weekends full of wonderful celebrations—a wedding, a girl's night in, dinner potlucks, and out of town travel—I'm refusing to make plans this weekend. I'm going to enjoy some free time.
There is nothing wrong with being social, enjoying parties, or meeting new people. But if you're actually stressed out by your party schedule, as retail stores seem to indicate it's OK to be, just remember that they're trying to sell you something. If you find yourself tempted to fill your holidays up with networking, social events, and shopping simply for the sake of seeing and being seen, consider where those messages are coming from. Often you'll find they're not even your ideas—they are placed there by carefully worded messages from people trying to sell you something by making you feel inadequate without it.
My love of Madmen aside, I don't think we need to perpetuate the glamorous lifestyle so prevalent in the media, which ultimately turns out to be self-destructive. It's fun to watch; it's empty and painful to live. And if you really need a glam fix, you can always Madmen yourself.
*Primary food is a concept licensed to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
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