December 18, 2010

As I look back on everything that has happened to me this past year, I try not to dwell on the negative because there is already too much negativity in the world. Instead of thinking about how my dear sister-in-law is no longer here to share in this happy time with us, or that I’ve lost my job, or that my body is getting saggier by the day, I choose to think about all the blessings I have, like my family and friends and how they’ve enriched my life.

I choose to think about how wonderful I feel when I listen to music or how I feel when I look at the colored lights on my Christmas tree: I’m immediately a kid again, a kid believing in a jolly fat man in a red suit who so unselfishly grants wishes to children all over the world in a single night.

I remember how I used to lie awake for hours in my bed on Christmas Eve, sweating under the covers because I was too nervous to move, afraid that if Santa heard me stir, he would be scared away before he left us anything.

Then in the wee hours, I’d wake up my little brother, tiptoe downstairs, peek around the corner, and gasp at what I saw. There stood our Christmas tree, shining with silver tinsel and colored ornaments, and beneath it were the gifts Santa had brought—things I wouldn’t have dared ask my parents for because they were too expensive—a cardboard corral and plastic horses, and a doll that raised her hand and turned her head when you pressed the button on her back. And right then, in my uncontrollable joy, I was absolutely certain that dreams really did come true.

I still am.

Some parents choose not to tell their kids about Santa Claus, maintaining that it’s all just a lie. But for me, that “lie” taught me to believe in the goodness of humanity and in the magic of spirit. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” by Francis Pharcellus Church. He wrote about how, even if we find a logical explanation for something, there remains an unseen world of magic that can only be reached through “faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance…” and that there is a boundless universe out there, the likes of which we are not capable of understanding through intellect alone.

I believe this with all my heart.

Appreciating the wonder of each moment as if it’s the first time we’ve encountered that experience, is something that comes naturally to children. In Zen, there is a similar concept known as “Beginner’s Mind.” As we mature, society tells us that certain things are impossible or strange or wrong. But every Christmas, Beginner’s Mind and the joy I felt as a child who believed in magic, is reinforced in me all over again. I’m going to hold onto it with even greater sincerity from now on.

That is my wish for you too.

In the coming year, let us strive to approach each moment with the wonder of a child and without judgment, wherein we may discover at last, the beauty, the magic and the truth that our hearts so desperately long for.

Clikc here for a wonderful video: The Polar Express

Believe in your dreams.

Baja Rock Pat