Publisher - November 2025

Photography by 
Jacie Elizabeth Millen

“If you change the way
you look at things,
the things you look at change.”
— Dr. Wayne Dyer —

I know we are supposed to wait until January to refresh and start anew, but why not go ahead and make it happen now? This way we can rid ourselves of any notion of Bah Humbug and decide to soak in the pure magic of the next wonderful weeks. Impossible, you think, with all the harried hustle and bustle, to-do lists, and skewed news on every channel? Yes, my friend, it is very possible but 100 percent up to you.

One of my all-time favorite philosophies is change your attitude, change your world, and there’s no better time than now to start. Everyone’s “world” is shaped almost wholly by what she or he focuses on, and focus is made up of attitude, actions and reactions. In other words, you can train yourself to not automatically think negative! Once you do, your life will lighten up and become increasingly positive, happier, and less stressful. As an added bonus, your anger and frustration will soften and diminish, especially if you simply remove yourself from the arena that’s bringing you down. (Hello news and social media) Isn’t that reason enough to start now?

If you can adopt this theory of focusing on the bright side, classic holiday frustration triggers, such as long grocery lines, a jerk stealing your parking spot, a to-do list a mile long, or an especially annoying relative who tells you how to cook when you are clearly the better cook, just roll off your back. This is sounding better!

Every situation can be viewed as good or bad; it all depends on who’s doing the viewing. Of course, there are those who thrive on negativity and drama. However, if you are tired of the heaviness and ready for a more peaceful life—and who isn’t?—it’s easy to change your world with a few attitude adjustments. Simply put, focus on and look for the good. I promise you find what you seek.

To change your focus, decide if the things bringing you dismay are actually important enough to your life to steal your joy and peace. I see it on social media every day. People are in an uproar over every little thing. Believe me, I can get sucked in, and once I come to, I regret wasting my precious minutes. It is imperative to escape the feeding frenzy of whatever is chomping at your soul.

Instead of grumbling over a long grocery line, just go with it. Lamenting and getting yourself into a tizzy doesn’t make the line any shorter. This is a powerful concept that needs to be understood: Whether you are mad about a long grocery line, or patient with the line, the line still exists. If you’re upset over it, the only one suffering is you, making you the prisoner of your self-induced meltdown.

What if you approached it like this? “It’s the holidays, I will expect busier lines.” Have you ever thought to be happy about the lines, as it means people are prospering and preparing for their special holiday time with their friends and family? Use the time in line to gather your thoughts, or just to breathe or pause for a moment. Be mindful of your surroundings while you’re in line, take it all in and enjoy. In fact, go a step further and let someone with only a few items go in front of you. Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous person will prosper, he who refreshes others, will himself be refreshed.” See, it's always the right time to refresh.

Speaking of being a generous person, let’s talk about giving, more specifically, random acts of giving. I love to give. I’m like a puppy at your feet when you are opening a present from me. I want to see you light up; it just gives me so much joy. I’ve been known to bake 15 or 20 pecan and pumpkin pies on Sunday and give them away on Monday, mostly to people who barely know me. Some look at me weirdly, but I’m OK with my weird; I accepted it a long time ago.

This year, I want to challenge you to give one stranger a gift. Sometimes this world seems desolate and lonely and horrifying, and you never know the impact your one small—or large—gesture will have. Whether it’s buying someone’s coffee, mailing a $20 dollar bill to a random home you pass by going to work every day, taking a shut-in a poinsettia, replacing a worn out basketball goal for the kid you see shooting hoops, placing some great reads into a Little Free Library, or adopting a classroom and buying each child a book of their own, just do something, and most importantly, have fun with it.

You are not going to believe how you feel when you’re through. Just this one act will light up your insides, and you will instantly feel the magic of the season. In fact, you will BE the magic for someone! So, what do you say? Let’s go be magical! What could possibly be better than that?

Think Pink,
Elizabeth Millen