Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

If any Christmas is of major significance, I'm thinking that this year is it. Leahness is tottering on the edge of non-belief in Santa. My Mother goes to have lunch at her school every Monday. She was telling me how the other children at their lunch table were talking about whether or not they believe in Santa. My Mom called me right away to tell me about it. She said that only Leahness and her friend Rudolpho (coincidence? ...and no, I did not change his name for privacy sake I swear!) were the only one's who were steadfast in their belief in the very realness of Santa Clause. The children were telling them, "NO! It is the Moms and Dads!" My mom said Leahness just said that this was simply not the case and that parents buy stuff for you too! I don't know...I am quite proud of her. It got me to thinking about the idea of believing in Santa Clause.

Adults will gleefully tout, "I STILL BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUSE!" But truly...do they? Do they wake up on Christmas morning to presents they themselves or they know their loved ones did not buy for them? Do they expect to hear hooves of 8 tiny reindeer on their rooftops on Christmas Eve night. Honestly I don't think so.

I believe that Santa Clause existed once. A real life man called Nicholas who gave of himself for the happiness of others. A man of astonishing faith and real love for the people of the earth. It is from this man, that we get the idea of Santa Clause today. The spirit of this man in the incarnation of the Santa we know today lives on....IF you let it.

Most people who know me, know that I live a yogic lifestyle. I adore yoga and the ideas and principles that come along with practicing yoga. One of the major components is opening your heart. Most of us walk with a small hunch in our backs. Rounded shoulders, caving in with our hearts almost covered and protected. Opening your chest to the world, allowing love in and out freely is important and vital to belief in the extraordinary in life. When you have an open heart, belief in anything is easy. This is scary for a lot of people; even the people who say they believe in Santa Clause. Do they really believe, or are they just being whimsical?

To believe in Santa as an adult, or even as a older child is to believe in miracles and joy unfettered. It can be hard in this very crazy and sometimes very sad world we live in to believe in anything. Most people have a hard time holding anything close to their hearts and not let in the Ebenezer Scrooge's rip it from them. There are far too many things getting in the way of honest-to-goodness belief. We round out our shoulders, protecting our heart from being bruised and beaten. But when we let our vulnerability, just as a child does, actually shine, that is when true belief happens.

You may find yourself smiling for the tiniest things. You'll see magic in the ordinary. You'll look at a man dressed up to play a version of that first Saint of Giving called Nicholas and you will see some truth in what he represents. It will happen to you if you allow yourself. It isn't a gradual process, rather it just comes to you like a beacon. As corny as all those Christmas movies like A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life may seem, they hold very real truth in them. The main characters is a typical Scrooge, then magically something happens and they have Christmas spirit again. That is really how it happens if you just allow your heart to govern your spirit for a change. Most adults have had the magic torn from them with real life circumstances. For most magic just simply disappears with say, their first late mortgage payment or the loss of a loved one. But the truth is, LIFE is MAGIC. Look around! Kindness, generosity, love, belief, and definitely magic is everywhere.

This time of year, let yourself be open to the magic of Christmas. Let the legacy that Nicholas live in you. Buy the person behind you in line their order at Starbucks. Give $10 instead of $1 to the Salvation Army bell ringers. Bake cookies for the old woman who lives alone down your street or in your apartment complex. You'll be Santa Clause! More people will believe because of your love and hope. You'll have more adults saying, "I believe in Santa Clause!" and really meaning it!