Holding Your Calm When the Season Starts Roaring

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, which means the whole world smells faintly of pie crust and panic. The lists are long, the stores are crowded, and your family group chat has hit that point where everyone’s feelings start to sparkle like faulty Christmas lights.

This is when I remind myself that I don’t have to hold the whole holiday together. I just have to breathe, one scented breath at a time.

The good news is that the earth gave us tools for this—ancient, ordinary, aromatic ones. Oils that people have turned to for thousands of years when life felt too heavy or too loud: Myrrh, Frankincense, Orange, Cedarwood, and Cinnamon.

Step 1: Begin at Ground Level

Start with Myrrh or Cedarwood. They smell like the forest after a long walk—the part where you finally stop thinking and start being. A drop on your palms, a deep inhale, and suddenly the noise fades just enough for you to remember that perfection was never the assignment. Presence was.

Step 2: Bring in the Light

By midafternoon, your energy will flag, and someone will likely have opinions about the gravy. That’s your cue for Orange or Frankincense. Orange lifts the mood like sunlight through the kitchen window; Frankincense clears the emotional air, the way forgiveness sometimes does when no one quite deserves it yet.

Step 3: Add Warmth, Not Pressure

Finally, a whisper of Cinnamon. Not too much—this is a diffuser, not a bake-off. It wraps everything in comfort, a reminder that joy doesn’t have to be loud or flawless to count. Sometimes it just smells like spice and small laughter in a crowded kitchen.

Holding it together one cinnamon stick at a time.

A Quiet Reminder

Every time you reach for one of these scents, you’re saying: I choose calm, right here, right now. Even if the table’s uneven and someone forgot the rolls.

The truth is, this season isn’t about control; it’s about connection. And if your diffuser helps you stay present for even one unhurried conversation or one honest laugh—then you’ve already done it right.

So breathe. The turkey can wait. Peace can’t.

P.S. Want more simple, beginner-friendly calming rituals?

Download your free guide Aromatherapy Made Gentle — 7 easy rituals using oils you already have — and subscribe for weekly EssentialCalm notes.

👉 https://tinyurl.com/GentleAroma