Each year, at this time, I seem to be rattled by the age-old and undeniably, one of the BIGGEST questions in life ...
Is Santa Real?????
Okay ..... let's take a deep breath .... exhale ..... and think! Yes, people.... THINK!
Now I'm not a psych expert, (though I do know a lot about how people, especially children, operate) and I don't have magical powers (though most of the 5-6 year olds in my care would strongly disagree) but I do believe in the power of the mind, the wonder of life, the generosity of the kind and the strength of love. If you, like I, believe in these things too, you might just agree with me here....Just because they ask ....
you don't HAVE to tell them!
Think of it like this... Some-one asks you "Have you won that million dollars in the lottery, yet?" You know the truth!
You know, they know the truth!
But how great would it be to be able to say "YES! The Money Tree arrives next week! We are going to pick the Season's fruit and fly to Machu Picchu for Christmas!
Well people ... I'm here to tell you ....
It's OKAY TO SAY "YES"!!!
(gasp! The faces turn left and right in search of the truth!!!)
Listen again!
It's okay to tell them "YES!"
Santa is Real!
You see, Santa is the 'figure' we've become to associate with Christmas. He is the giving, the loving, the kind! The children, just like you and that Lotto win, want to believe in the power of the dream. Don't take that away from them! The magic of this world will disappear soon enough! They will have to face reality, one day, but until they are old enough .... let them believe. Let them experience the curiosity of the unknown, the magic of wonder and the joy of belief. A five year old is not asking you because he wants to know that the jolly old man isn't real!!! The five year old is asking you because they've heard rumours they don't want to believe!!!! Some other chump has put the notion in your child's head and now they are searching for some proof that the chump (and his chumpy father) are mistaken.
Let them BELIEVE!!! It won't be forever! Childhood is so short these days! The real world will come along soon enough and they will be faced with the pressures and stresses of the everyday world. It is then that they will look back and remember the wonderment and the joy and the ecstasy of believing in something magical ... and maybe, just maybe, the feeling they remember might just help give them the strength they need to deal with the problems they are facing in the real world!
If you are having difficulties looking them in the eye and telling them the truth ... make it simple.Ask them "What do you think?" Ask them, "What is Christmas all about?" Ask "Why is giving so important?" and "How do you think others feel when they receive something they've always wanted?"
Tell them that Santa isn't just the 'person'. Santa is the FEELING ... and allow them to connect the goodness with the person, then it doesn't really matter if it's Santa, or the tooth fairy, Allah or God.
The feeling is true and real and therefore alive and real.
I want to wish you all the merriest of Christmases and hope you wake on Christmas morning to see a money tree down the back yard. See you at the Incas!
Merry Christmas!
