It’s September, and as we near the months of celebrations, someone is already counting down to Christmas. Someone else is planning their Diwali outfit. People have started planning New Year’s bashes. The group chat is alive. The shopping lists have begun.

I get it. There is something wonderful about dressing up, gathering with people, and having a day to look forward to.

But sometimes I wonder what happens the day after all the celebrations end.

If those were the only days you felt alive, seen, or connected, how long do you have to wait to feel that way again? Until the next holiday?

We notice when someone lives financially paycheck to paycheck. They are often in survival mode rather than thriving. But some of us are living happiness paycheck to paycheck. We get through ordinary weeks waiting for the next holiday, vacation, birthday, wedding, or party to make us feel something.

We spend lavishly. We make plans. We feel a sense of belonging. And then we go home to a life we don’t particularly want to return to. The same stress. The same dread. The same unregulated emotions flying around. The same feeling of emptiness.

I don’t think the answer is to stop celebrating. Celebrations are wonderful. They’re a change from the ordinary. But I think we also need to pay attention to how we live on ordinary days.

What is your mind like when there is nothing special coming up? Are you interested in your own life, or just trying to get through it?

That is where so much of our life happens. In the way we speak to ourselves before breakfast. In the patience we bring to our children when we’re tired. In how we handle boredom, disappointment, and plans that don’t go our way.

A festival can give us joy for a day. It cannot do the daily work of helping us feel steady and content in our own lives.

That work also includes having something that matters to you. A goal you are moving toward. A skill you are learning. A body and mind you are taking care of. People you can talk to about more than the next party or purchase.

Surround yourself with people who are passionate about their everyday lives. People who are curious, creating, growing, and willing to have a meaningful conversation on a random Tuesday. Their energy reminds you that life is happening now.

Enjoy Christmas. Celebrate Diwali. Go to Hawaii. Throw the party and dance until your feet hurt. But when the decorations come down and everyone goes home, there is still a life waiting for you.

Make that life one you want to return to.