Schools just let out for the break, I'm still not done everything, and the cute holiday cards I was going to send you with a carefully crafted bespoke message are still sitting blank in their boxes. Not happening. Instead, please accept this open letter as my season's greeting to you.

When my son was in preschool, his teacher used to say "stop, look and listen" as a cue to the students to quiet down and pay attention. If you have an opportunity to step away from work in the coming days, I invite you to consider this sentence as a scaffold for rest.

STOP working for a minute and give yourself a break. Stop worrying, planning, or wishing circumstances were different.

LOOK away from your screens. Look outside. Look for the silver lining. Look inward, to find yourself again.

LISTEN to yourself. Listen to the birds, to the subway trains, to the silence. Tune out the auditory clutter for a while. Not every moment needs a podcast or a news update.

If you can, I hope you will take a real break this month. I hope you will give yourself permission to stop, look and listen. Here's to 2022, and to you.