As Christmas draws closer, emotions often feel heightened. Old memories resurface, family dynamics become louder, and unspoken expectations hover in the background. Even when life looks calm on the outside, something inside can feel unsettled.
In my book, I describe this experience using the image of a spinning top inside a box.
When a wave of emotion hits, the spinning top spins faster and crashes into the sides of the box, and we feel pain. The tighter the box, the harder the impact. The box represents the limits we place on ourselves: the rules, the shoulds, the emotional walls we’ve built to cope.
Often, this is where the head and heart begin to clash. The mind wants logic, control, and certainty. The heart wants truth, expression, and space. When one tries to overpower the other, the box shrinks.
When we begin to practise heart–head coherence, something softens. The box doesn’t disappear, but it expands. There is more room for movement, more compassion for what we feel, and less internal collision. The spinning top still moves but it no longer hurts in the same way. 60 seconds. Afterwards, reflect: Did it soften, shift, or pass on its own?
This isn’t about fixing emotions or understanding them perfectly. It’s about creating enough internal space so they don’t knock us off balance.
As you move through the final days before Christmas, notice when you feel emotionally reactive or overwhelmed. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” try gently asking, “Where have I made my inner box too small?”
Pause for reflection:
What would change for you if you allowed a little more emotional space this week, space to feel, to pause, to respond rather than react?
Sit with the question. There’s no need to answer it straight away.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
Much love & light
Silvana Penfold