Hopefully Santa has visited your house this morning, or the spirit of Santa at least. Santa brings with him not only toys for countless boys and girls, but joy and hope. Santa is a symbol of the spirit of Christmas, regardless of whether or not your a Christian or just a believer of Santa or not is besides the point, for he is filled with the kind of qualities that we can all learn from.
What can you and your kids learn from Santa this season that you can carry with you all year long?
Santa is always asking if we have been naughty or nice and of course seeks to reward those with good behavior. Santa asks us to be good all year long, which for many of us this begins a conscious journey as our busy lives seems to take so many of us away in thoughts of selfishness and greed, often forgetting others around us. From Santa we can learn to be kind, generous, considerate, caring, and thoughtful.
Santa teaches us to think of others often before himself, as he shows by his lesson of giving to everyone, regardless of whoever and wherever they are. Santa gives with all his heart and never asks for anything in return. Santa’s reward is seeing the joy on the faces of all the boys and girls, big and small. A truly generous heart in many ways seems to have become something that we witness, or simply take for granted, all too often, yet is the key to true happiness.
Santa is not only kind, generous, and selfless, but he is true in his thoughtfulness as he seeks to give to each individual and see that the gifts he gives are not only from the heart, but touch the heart and life of that person. All too often in the hustle and bustle of the holidays we are more concerned with the cost of the gift or just ensuring we get gifts for all we feel we have to buy for and just don’t think of who we are buying for and thus and the spirit of the season and care for the individual becomes lost. By showing great care and attention Santa shows us the meaning of the season and giving, to place others before ourselves and truly think of those we care about and those in need.
Santa looks to give gifts that bring hope and joy not fill the pockets , but the hearts of those he gives to. He listens to each person with great attention and takes care and time to read the letters he receives, to listen with undivided attention to each child who sits upon his lap….something we all too often forget with our computers and mobile phones as we replace conversations with abbreviated texts and forwarded messages. In our high tech world we have forgotten the meaning of communication and one needs to ask; “How often do we really listen to someone?” How often do we truly listen to those around us and take in all they say without judgment, hear what they have to say till the end and seek not to impose our own views upon them?
The spirit of Santa is often a a light in the darkest of times, hope when hope seems to be lost, as his kindness and warm heart show that the human spirit is one that is happiest when we share our lives and love with others with without thinking of what it means for us. So let us all learn a lesson or two from Santa today that we can carry forward for the rest of our lives as we slow down and see the meaning of life in the eyes and hearts of all around us. For if we learn these lessons then we will truly receive the biggest gift of all….true peace and happiness.
