'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Happy Christmas to all,

and to all a good night!

Click here for "A Visit from St. Nicholas" on poetryfoundation.org

Merry Christmas everyone!

xoxo,

T

Yes There IS...

"For those who believe, no proof is necessary.  

For those who don't believe, no proof is possible."

- Stuart Chase

As for me?  I believe.

This week, I am reminded of the Truth - that all things are possible, that magic exists, and that we can.  "We can" what?  We can - anything.

The following is from The New York Sun, 1897.  I've always loved this Christmas editorial:

"WE TAKE PLEASURE IN ANSWERING THUS PROMINENTLY THE

communication below, expressing at the same time our great

gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the

friends of The Sun:

        Dear Editor - 

        I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there

        is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The

        Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a

        Santa Claus?

        Virginia O'Hanlon

         115 West Ninety Fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected

by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except

they see. They think that nothing can be which is not

comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia,

whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great

universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as

compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by

the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and

knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as 

love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they

abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas!

how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It

would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be

no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable

this existence.

We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The 

external light with which childhood fills the world would be

extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in

fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the

chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you

did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?

Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no

Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that

neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies

dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they

are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders

there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise

inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not

the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the

strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith,

poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and

picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it real? Ah,

Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A

thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years

from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

- "Is There a Santa Claus?" reprinted from the September 21, 

1897, number of The New York Sun.

This year, I was moved by the writing of a nine year old little girl, Basya Fogelman, who read her winning essay aloud at the National Menorah Lighting in Washington, DC.  I was also inspired and encouraged by Rabbi Levi Shemtov's comments, which immediately followed:

“Chanukah means different things to different people.  To little kids, Chanukah means presents.  To adults, Chanukah means spending time with family.  To me, Chanukah means going up.  You might ask, ‘What does that mean?’ The second night of Chanukah is symbolic of elevation or ‘going up’ because every night you add more light by lighting another candle.  So too does a Jew by doing this important mitzvah.  This mitzvah will lead to more.  As our sages say, ‘One good deed leads to another.’  We should try to do more good deeds every day.  It’s important to me to add more light in honor of my grandmother who passed away on the second night of Chanukah many years ago.  My favorite way to add light is to visit old and sick people and light the menorah and sing Chanukah songs with them.  When I do this, I know I am not only elevating myself but my grandmother’s soul too.”  - Basya Fogelman

“In your homes or via the live broadcast, know that you can light a candle too.  Even if you’re not celebrating Chanukah, go warm up somebody’s life.  Go do another good deed.  Go make the world brighter than it would be without you and in that way, you’re celebrating Chanukah too.  Obviously, in the Jewish community we light menorahs, but spreading light, good, and warmth in the world is a universal opportunity and message.”  - Rabbi Levi Shemtov

While the children are teaching us, here is another good find from Sesame Street, about Kwanzaa.  I fondly remember learning all about Kwanzaa when my (then five year old) little sister came home from school and excitedly shared her entire lesson on the holiday with the whole family.

More on Kwanzaa from The History Channel:

Click here for direct link to the above video on History.com (instead of YouTube)

“Just as millions celebrate Irish culture on St. Patty's Day 
and Mexican culture on Cinco de Mayo, 
Kwanzaa has grown to fulfill Dr. Karenga's vision.  
The vision that people of all stripes celebrate the 
African culture and spirit.”
- History.com

This holiday season, I'll keep in mind what the children have taught me.  I will be warmed by the purity of love in their hearts and by the magic and spirit of family that fills the air.  I will be reminded:

Life is simple.  Choose Love.  Choose Joy.  Follow the Magic.  Follow the Light.  

Be Love.  Be Joy.  Be Magic.  Be Light.

May we all have a joyous holiday season.  May we love and appreciate each other for our uniqueness, for the variations and different traditions within our brotherhood and for the common bond which connects and unites all of us. 

Happy Holidays!

Namaste, 

T

Dear Santa... About the Cookies...

Dear Santa,

I am very grateful for all the gifts… and for all the people who give them… but…

Could you please spread the word that I DO NOT WANT anything with an abundance of calories this year?  The cookies, brownies, ice cream, pies, chocolates and the like… the problem is that I LOVE them.  I eat them.  I eat them all.  I absolutely cannot have them in the house without gobbling them up.  I have accepted that.  That is why I do not buy them anymore.  Somehow they find their way into the house anyway.

Why?  Why do people insist on trying to make me jiggle?  Is it a plot against me?  Are their joyous smiles when they give me the offending sweets, disguised glee at my impending untimely demise?  Do they KNOW how eating these things could RUIN my LIFE?  Follow me here for a minute…

First, my jeans get a little tight, but it’s nothing I can’t blame on the dryer.  I just rearrange my jeans drawer so that the tight ones are in the back.  Slowly however, I find that I must buy new ones when NONE of them seem to fit.  I think, “Is the clothes dryer really getting that hot?” as I mope off to the mall wondering how I’ll pay for a new dryer on top of all the new pants I will have to buy and curse the maker of dryers thinking that it is a very cruel trick getting the dryer to run so hot after only a few years (and just after the warranty runs out) that it shrinks your pants so that you will have to purchase a new appliance.

THEN once I get to the mall, I discover that there is ANOTHER conspiracy going on with the clothing designers!  They have changed the sizes of things.  Entire STORES are involved too.  The shops that used to be my favorites are the biggest offenders.  They only carry pencil thin jeans that supposedly are my size AND they are also making tops that have absolutely no allowance for any kind of a chest!  I have to hunt for a new favorite store.  What is happening in the world!?  Now I have to scour through racks trying to find something that fits and maybe isn’t too “old lady” looking.  It takes longer and longer to find something cool and even if I do, I can’t really be sure. 

I have to check a magazine or something…  The only ones with cool things with ANY degree of sophistication WHATSOEVER have garments that I love, but they cost THOUSANDS of dollars!  Fine.  I give up.  I go home and catch an episode of “What Not to Wear” and learn that I need five thousand dollars to buy a new wardrobe and that I can NEVER be on that show lest they throw away my entire closet and inform me brutally that I am “frumpy.”  Sadly, I open up the box of Girl Scout cookies in the freezer and eat a few, vowing to wake up early the next day and do a workout.

I don’t know HOW it is possible to waste an ENTIRE day procrastinating because I do NOT want to do a workout.  I mean, what is my problem anyway?  Are twitter trends and what my Facebook friends are finding on YouTube really that important?  (Hang on a sec, I have to go pour the hot water over the delicious gourmet hot chocolate which is the ONLY thing making me feel better about this.)  OK I’m back.

I haven’t showered yet because it is a waste of time to shower right before a workout – and I’m still going to do one today.  Wait a minute… is that clock right!?  I’d better shower because I have to get to the grocery store before it closes.  I guess I’ll do a workout out tomorrow.  I’ll buy fat free hot chocolate.

After trying a variety of low fat and sugar-free items, I decide that they taste terrible and that THAT was a complete waste of money.  Haven’t I spent enough on new pants and household appliances?  I vow to never do that again as I sit at home hungry because the only thing in the fridge tastes like cardboard.  I call the diner for some decent food.  The onion rings are delicious.

This cycle goes on and on until the doctor says that I had better start watching what I eat and I read online someone’s post about how they can eat all the cookies they want because it is not their JOB to be in shape.  It is only the job of public figures in the entertainment and music industry to be physically outstanding.  Oh crap.  I have to either fight this machine or just call it quits forever.

After giving it some thought, I realize that THIS is the reason why I am not a millionaire yet! – too many cookies and this dang conspiracy on the part of clothing designers, clothing stores and the makers of dryers.  Wait… a…minute…

Aren’t more and more entertainers and music industry icons becoming clothing designers???  (I think I am on to something)  They are trying to eliminate the competition!!!  This is probably the reason they are changing the sizes!  They are purposely trying to depress us independent artists!  They are probably in cahoots with the other companies too – and what about the glass ceiling?  Aren’t most of these companies run by men?  Are their sizes changing too?  I haven’t heard any similar complaints from Russ.  OMG!  It’s a front, perpetrated by “tha man,” to keep a sista ROUND!  I will start a movement – an uprising.  We will occupy… occupy what? – our plus-sized old lady pants with the elastic waistband?  No.

No.  I will NOT succumb to this madness.  It will start with the elimination of calorie-filled gifts and assurances that I “can afford” to eat that delectable cake with the melt-in-your-mouth caramel frosting.  I will resist.  I will throw away those boxes of cookies and tins of tasty treats with perfectly wrapped bows on top.  I will stop calling them “treats.”  They are now… um… “doo doos.”  I will say “thank doo” as I look into the smiling face of those who maybe aren’t out to get me so much as victims themselves of the biggest conspiracy in the history of the entertainment industry.  I know better now.  I will NOT feel guilty for wasting perfectly good calories as I pitch those pretty boxes and sprinkles into the dumpster.

Thanks for the talk Santa.

------------------------------

P.S.

My mom has informed me that the preceding blog may be offensive to little old ladies.  Please allow me to assure you all that I do not intend these comments to offend anyone.  I love little old ladies.  I plan on being one someday.  I may be one right now – and that would be fine.  “Sophia” on “The Golden Girls” was always my favorite and I oftentimes strive to be just like her.  What would she say?  Probably that I’m not one yet and so, “eh, don’t worry about it… I’d be more worried about that outfit you have on if I were you.”

“It's too tight, it's too short and shows too much cleavage for a woman your age.” – from “Memorable Quotes for The Golden Girls” 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088526/quotes

J xoxo