The Magic of the Season

I know it's not Christmastime, but I ran across an orignal letter that a little girl wrote, to the New York Sun Times, asking if there was a Santa Claus.  "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" came the resounding affirmative from an editor (AKA "Santa Claus").  And, after reading it, I'd have to agree!

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 95th Street


Santa Claus:

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] 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 eternal 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 they 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 may 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, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal [heavenly] beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world, there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, VIRGINIA, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Wedding Anniversary

Today is my 33rd wedding anniversary.  I'm still in love with the man I married.  That will never change. For, as the flames of love ignite, so burn bright.  For eternity.  Embers smolder in my heart.  They can't be doused even though fate led us apart. By magic we met.  And much of the wonder, enchantment and joy still linger. 

Today I'm thinking about how we might have celebrated.  Perhaps a trip to Grand Cayman where we'd lie on the beach and rub suntan lotion on each other's backs.  Then wind down with a nap and candlelight dinner served, slowly, on a lanai overlooking the lapping waves and rushing waters of the azure blue ocean.  Watching the sun set, holding hands. . .

For those lucky enough to make it to their 33rd wedding anniversary, together, count your blessings!  For "to have and to hold" is one of the most sacred verses.  It keeps you happy.  Healthy.  Sane.  

Today, on my 33rd anniversary, I dedicate the following verse, by Rumi, a poet, philosopher and lover of all time, to those in love, and to the flame in my heart and the memories that serve as comforters of the soul:

 A Window

There is a window between heart and heart:

They are never separate like two bodies.

Two lamps may not be united in their form –

But their light merges into each other.

No lover ever searched for Union

If his beloved is not also seeking him.

The love of lovers makes them think;

The Beloved's love makes them full and shining.
 

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

Listen

Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don't have to do anything else. We don't have to advise, or coach or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen.

Margaret J. Wheatley

American Author and Organizational Consultant

Thoughts on a Snowy Day

The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done.

Mother Teresa, 1910-1997

Catholic Nun, Servant to the Poor, Nobel Prize Recipient

When I think about the people I love or have loved in my life, I feel a barrage of emotions.  From early childhood, when my Mother cared for and protected me, to my marriage, divorce, years alone, time with good friends and, now, with my seven kits and Sweetie Sue pup, I wouldn't trade the memories for anything.

When my dear friend and player piano tuner of 25 years lay dying, two years ago, I sat by his bedside and held his hand.  I felt such sadness, such loss, such depth of emotions that still visit me each and every day.  Yet, I'll always recall the wonderful times we sat at my dining room table over breakfast, lunch or snacks.  Shooting the breeze, laughing about nothing and feeling connected although we were years apart.  Nothing's changed in that department.  And the merry melodies I play on my piano only serve to remind me of those happy days, fine feelings and treasured memories.

I'll never forget when one of the kits was born without eye sockets.  Stillborn. Yet, Mama Sweetie Pie licked and licked her baby, as if just one more lick would zap life into its stiff little body.  I watched the miracle of birth and death, within seconds, and felt the joy of life turn into the darkness of doom.  Another unforgettable, but not forgotten memory, of the special feelings we shared.

Then, there was Suzy's passing last August.  My best friend and closest confidante for 14 years.  Gone.  And the preceeding three weeks were such agony, watching her slip away, day-after-day, yet fighting for life against a race of death.  In the end, the grim reaper won.  He always does.  Yet our love held strong and fast throughout.  And still does.

Friends who've come and gone.  Misunderstandings.  Misgivings, in some cases. Missed and missing.  Yet nothing obliterates the closeness we once felt.  At least for me.  And, I don't regret one single second that we spent together, laughing, talking, close, compatible.  Things change.  But love stays.

I Died for Beauty

by

Emily Dickinson

I died for beauty but was scarce

Adjusted in the tomb,

When one who died for truth was lain

In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?

"For beauty," I replied.

"And I for truth, the two are one;

We brethren are," he said.

When I look at anything in nature I see, nay, feel, the inherent beauty and, therefore, truth, in it.  Whether a fox or flower, rooster or rose, burro or barn, whatever, wherever.  If it be natural, real, honest and true, it be beautiful.  Pure and simple.

And if it be chained or maimed, caged or cornered, judged or jaded, it be false and sad.  Lost and lonely.  Lame and limp.  Alone.  Even with others.  Like the fox and his brother at the nature center.  Going crazy.  For chain link fences separate their souls from their roots.  And destroy their spirits in the process.  Unfair.  Un-true.  No Zen here.  Only zoos.

"Dog" Spelled Backwards is "God"

A Dog's Logic:

The reason

a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail

instead of his tongue.
-Anonymous

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a

puppy licking your face.

-Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing

on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

-Josh Billings

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.

- Mark Twain

Dogs are not our whole life,

but they make our lives whole.

-Roger Caras 
 

Protected or Trapped?

Recently I went to a nature center & left feeling uncertain whether the animals were better off in or out of their "safety" pens.  Why?  Because of how sad they all looked.  See for yourself.  The fox, bobcat, bald eagle, snow owl and barn owls all looked downtrodden and upset, even.  As if to say, "Let me out of here.  I might be in danger out in the forest, but I'll have my freedom, and that's what I really want."

Every animal looked so sad, I couldn't bear to see their suffering behind fences.  Dependant on their keepers for food not necessarily shelter.  And, most were in isolation, kept apart from their buddies and pals.  That's not right.

I don't know what the answer is, as I suspect they'd have a hard time of it in the wild and may even be hunted down by a predator---two or four-legged.  At least in the nature center, they'll be safe.  But, at what cost?  To their sanity?  One snow owl already died because of stress, one of the rangers told me.  She hated being kept penned up.  I don't blame her.

A hard question.  One worth pondering.  Animals value their freedom.  Just like most of us.