For the last couple years, around Christmas time, I put on my Santa outfit (yes, I have a Santa outfit) and bring presents to a handful of very anxious and very excited kids. They sit on the floor in front of me, listen very carefully and follow all the instructions. They wait for their names to be called out, and walk to me with a big smile. I hand out the present and they give me a hug, pose for pictures and go back to their spot. They are thrilled about getting presents from Santa...but guess what? They know all along that it's me. That knowledge doesn't take away any joy from them and as simple as it is...there is a profoundness about it. It is not because of just the gifts and it is not just because they think I am Santa...It is because they chose to believe in the magic and they chose to live it.
As simple as that is...I know I will have a hard time doing that.
There is magic all around us. We just choose to not believe in the magic and choose to not live it. Life is truly magical I feel. How else would you explain the laugh of a child? How else would you explain the love of your family and friends? How else would you explain all the kindness and the generosity around you? How else would you explain the great creations and inventions by mankind?...But we don't always believe in that magic. That is where doubt and jealousy and hatred and selfishness creep in. The world will be a better place if we all believed in that magic around us...and if we lived in it bit more!
I am not one for new resolutions and this is not a resolution. But I will try and believe in this magic some more. I am going to live in it some more. So I am not going to talk myself out of trying out a new idea. I am not going to talk myself out of a workout. I am not going to stop myself from trying something because it looks too hard or too exhausting. I am not going to stop myself from calling an old friend because I want to avoid the awkwardness of explaining why I didn't respond to his call from 2 years ago. I am not going to stop myself from dreaming...and I am not going to stop writing.
I believe in Santa Claus!
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