The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers
Deepak Chopra
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InspirEmail

InspirEmail No 75 - December 19, 2005
'Inspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account'

Santa Claus lives in all of us!

I remember my first Christmas party with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: 'There is no Santa Claus,' she jeered. 'Even dummies know that!'

My grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. 'No Santa Claus!' she snorted. 'Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumour has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go.'

'Go? Go where, Grandma?' I asked. I hadn't even finished my second cinnamon bun.

Where turned out to be our general store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. 'Take this money,' she said, 'and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car.' Then she turned and walked out of store. I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbours, the kids at school and the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobbie Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.

Bobbie Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobbie Decker didn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobbie Decker a coat.

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. 'Is this a Christmas present for someone?' the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.

'Yes,' I replied shyly. 'It's ... for Bobbie.' The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons, and write, 'To Bobbie, From Santa Claus' on it - Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobbie Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk Then Grandma gave me a nudge. 'All right, Santa Claus,' she whispered, 'get going.'

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie.

Forty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobbie Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumours about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

Author Unknown

December - Featured Inspiration

Treasured Traditions

'HO, HO, HO,' boomed Dad waking the kids on Christmas morning, and always at an outlandish hour. Like before sunrise! The child in him couldn�t wait any longer, and he would 'ho, ho, ho' up and down the hall until we staggered out of ... read the full story >>>

No Way!

Most of the time when people say there's no way, there is a way but they're just not willing to find it or to do whatever is necessary to make it happen.

Are you in a difficult situation?

There is a way out, a way which will lead you toward where you'd really like to be. Is there something you truly desire? There is a way to achieve it, no matter how out of reach it may seem. If you can't see the way, keep looking. If you see it but you're unwilling to do it, then go to work on yourself. Look at your priorities. They've gotten you where you are right now and if you really want to get somewhere else, somewhere better, then those priorities will need to change. Just about anything is possible. The real question is this. What is possible for you?

What's possible for you is whatever you decide to make possible. If it's important enough to you, you'll find a way. Because there always is a way. When you're willing, it will be yours.

Ralph Marston



Seasons Greetings - be inspired and best wishes for 2006!

This is the last issue of InspirEmail for 2005 and I wish you a very happy, relaxing and enjoyable festive season. As you prepare to begin 2006 it is my sincere wish that all your dreams and wishes for the year ahead will be realised. The next issue of InspirEmail will be published on January 16, 2006.

- Two Inspirational Quotes -

Christmas, my child, is love in action.
Every time we love every time we give, it's Christmas
Dale Evans Rogers

Set your sights high, the higher the better.
Expect the most wonderful things to happen;
not in the future but right now
Eileen Caddy

View more Inspirational Quotes >>>

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