Re: Santa....a different view
Diamondlady1025
Why be conflicted about the whole Santa thing? Yes, Santa may very well be a
fantasy character, a man much like Superman, Batman or Spiderman in our
fantasy world..... but if you can look behind the man into what he
represents in the eyes of children and in my eyes, you will find something
much more real.
To me, I love Santa. I loved Santa even when I found out he was not "real".
I was not disappointed or hurt by what appeared to be my parents "lies",
because I never interpreted them as "lies". The only thing I was upset about
was the fact that my mother used the same wrapping paper and tags for the
presents she and my dad gave, as she did the ones from Santa. I think my
reasoning there was one of that if she was going to have made such strides
to have the gifts be from two different sets of people without us knowing it
why use the same paper then? :)
So, why was I not hurt or disappointed about discovering that the physical
person of Santa was being portrayed by my parents? Because for me, Santa is
and always has been since as far back as I can remember, been the belief in
what is possible. Santa is not so much of a HE but rather a what is. It is a
knowing that although we cannot always see something - faith, hope, love,
magic, fate, miracles, what can be, possibility....... we can still believe.
We can still believe in what can be, in life, no matter what logic may tell
us.
Do we believe in love and the power of love to go beyond what we humans can
see and reason? You bet we do, and we believe in it so strongly that
sometimes it can make us blind to what is real. But we believe in it
nonetheless, and it is not something real in the sense of something we can
feel, touch, smell, taste or hear....but we believe, we believe in it's
power and in it's strength and in the essence of knowing it is what brings
us all together, no matter what race, no matter what (fill in the blank)....
Santa may not be real in the sense of we cannot feel, touch, smell, taste or
hear him BUT we can believe in what he is in our hearts - a sense of
innocence, a sense of awe and wonder at life and of life and in life. We can
believe in that all things are possible and that life is the miracle that it
is because we choose to see it for the miracle that it is. Santa is so much
more than just someone who brings children presents on Christmas while we
all go to sleep. It is a belief of something that is beyond what we can use
our five senses to see, materialize and realize - the magic of what is
possible in life beyond any reason or explanation, it just is..... and the
spirit in which that can happen, that needs to be felt and seen here. Seeing
is not believing, believing is seeing!
That is who Santa is to me. Do I believe in Santa? You bet I do and I will
always believe in him until I draw my last breath! Do my kids believe? They
are 13, 7, (almost 8, next month) and 6 and you bet they do! :) They will
not feel betrayed when they learn of the truth that I am the one who gives
them the presents under the tree and in their stockings, instead of a
physical man who wears a red suit, because they know of what Santa truly is
in all of which I have written here and more, beyond what our minds can
reason. And THAT is what will be keep Santa alive in their hearts and keep
them believing in Santa, not for the figure of the man he is, but for what
he is and can be within their hearts.
Patti and the boys (Chris 13, Matthew 7, Anthony 6)
Life Long Learning Academy
http://www.life-long-learning-4-all.com/index.html
"For no matter where knowledge and learning come from - no matter
what shape, size, or dimension it assumes - it still is what it is,
knowledge and learning. Therefore knowledge and learning should
always be embraced." ~ unknown
fantasy character, a man much like Superman, Batman or Spiderman in our
fantasy world..... but if you can look behind the man into what he
represents in the eyes of children and in my eyes, you will find something
much more real.
To me, I love Santa. I loved Santa even when I found out he was not "real".
I was not disappointed or hurt by what appeared to be my parents "lies",
because I never interpreted them as "lies". The only thing I was upset about
was the fact that my mother used the same wrapping paper and tags for the
presents she and my dad gave, as she did the ones from Santa. I think my
reasoning there was one of that if she was going to have made such strides
to have the gifts be from two different sets of people without us knowing it
why use the same paper then? :)
So, why was I not hurt or disappointed about discovering that the physical
person of Santa was being portrayed by my parents? Because for me, Santa is
and always has been since as far back as I can remember, been the belief in
what is possible. Santa is not so much of a HE but rather a what is. It is a
knowing that although we cannot always see something - faith, hope, love,
magic, fate, miracles, what can be, possibility....... we can still believe.
We can still believe in what can be, in life, no matter what logic may tell
us.
Do we believe in love and the power of love to go beyond what we humans can
see and reason? You bet we do, and we believe in it so strongly that
sometimes it can make us blind to what is real. But we believe in it
nonetheless, and it is not something real in the sense of something we can
feel, touch, smell, taste or hear....but we believe, we believe in it's
power and in it's strength and in the essence of knowing it is what brings
us all together, no matter what race, no matter what (fill in the blank)....
Santa may not be real in the sense of we cannot feel, touch, smell, taste or
hear him BUT we can believe in what he is in our hearts - a sense of
innocence, a sense of awe and wonder at life and of life and in life. We can
believe in that all things are possible and that life is the miracle that it
is because we choose to see it for the miracle that it is. Santa is so much
more than just someone who brings children presents on Christmas while we
all go to sleep. It is a belief of something that is beyond what we can use
our five senses to see, materialize and realize - the magic of what is
possible in life beyond any reason or explanation, it just is..... and the
spirit in which that can happen, that needs to be felt and seen here. Seeing
is not believing, believing is seeing!
That is who Santa is to me. Do I believe in Santa? You bet I do and I will
always believe in him until I draw my last breath! Do my kids believe? They
are 13, 7, (almost 8, next month) and 6 and you bet they do! :) They will
not feel betrayed when they learn of the truth that I am the one who gives
them the presents under the tree and in their stockings, instead of a
physical man who wears a red suit, because they know of what Santa truly is
in all of which I have written here and more, beyond what our minds can
reason. And THAT is what will be keep Santa alive in their hearts and keep
them believing in Santa, not for the figure of the man he is, but for what
he is and can be within their hearts.
Patti and the boys (Chris 13, Matthew 7, Anthony 6)
Life Long Learning Academy
http://www.life-long-learning-4-all.com/index.html
"For no matter where knowledge and learning come from - no matter
what shape, size, or dimension it assumes - it still is what it is,
knowledge and learning. Therefore knowledge and learning should
always be embraced." ~ unknown
Angela
Patti,
What you wrote was beautiful and also the theme behind "yes Virginia, there
is a Santa Claus", which I love and plan to share with my children at some
point.
I also wanted to mention that the cousin I mentioned who felt so betrayed by
her parents also had a LOT of other issues with regards to her parent's
parenting. So, it's not like the Santa issue was the only thing she was
lied to about. There was both physical and mental abuse to go with it.
Angela
<mailto:game-enthusiast@...> game-enthusiast@...
Patti wrote:
<snip>
Santa may not be real in the sense of we cannot feel, touch, smell, taste or
hear him BUT we can believe in what he is in our hearts - a sense of
innocence, a sense of awe and wonder at life and of life and in life.
<snip>
And Rebeca wrote:
<snip>
I have friends who were terribly bothered by their parent's
'lies' about Santa. But, then again, lots of things about their upbringing
bother them.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
What you wrote was beautiful and also the theme behind "yes Virginia, there
is a Santa Claus", which I love and plan to share with my children at some
point.
I also wanted to mention that the cousin I mentioned who felt so betrayed by
her parents also had a LOT of other issues with regards to her parent's
parenting. So, it's not like the Santa issue was the only thing she was
lied to about. There was both physical and mental abuse to go with it.
Angela
<mailto:game-enthusiast@...> game-enthusiast@...
Patti wrote:
<snip>
Santa may not be real in the sense of we cannot feel, touch, smell, taste or
hear him BUT we can believe in what he is in our hearts - a sense of
innocence, a sense of awe and wonder at life and of life and in life.
<snip>
And Rebeca wrote:
<snip>
I have friends who were terribly bothered by their parent's
'lies' about Santa. But, then again, lots of things about their upbringing
bother them.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]