RWL #255
selfless giving, family, and home
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! And Merry Christmas from the LHH! As I write this, it is the morning of Christmas Eve day - a day that was filled with anticipation when I was a child. I realize not all of you celebrate Christmas, but I invite you to join me in appreciating the secular portion of the holiday. I will leave out the religious components which I also appreciate. I actually think the secular components - a celebration of selfless giving, family, and home - are universal and manifest themselves in various ways in all world religions.
While the pandemic is still upon us, we are all triple-vaxxed and most of us are recently tested, so we plan to be together. Unfortunately my middle daughter (the infamous Daughter #2 that many of you who are former students heard stories about) now works in a nursing home and has to work on Christmas day. So we have decided as a family to bake cookies today and spend part of the day with our daughter and her residents handing out cookies (pic above is part of the 20 dozen cookies we baked). Because home is where one should be on Christmas, and home is where family is, so we will bring home to her.
From all of us at the LHH, we wish you a merry Christmas! Or a very nice Saturday. Either way, I hope you get to spend it at home, wherever that is, with your family.
Have a great week and enjoy the links!
**
Read
What: unknown, ATTENTION TO ALL PARENTS WHO NEED TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT SANTA
No link - I’ve reproduced in toto below.
Why: Someone shared this story on the socials, and I have been unable to find a definitive source - it just keeps getting reposted on various blogs and whatnot - so I am posting it in toto here. When I was a kid, I really did believe in Santa Claus. I was probably late in finding out he wasn’t real. But I love the myth and tradition. I still watch NORAD Tracks Santa videos each year - something I did with my kids when they were little - and now I mostly do it by myself - and occasionally drag my adult children over to participate. I was struck by how well this short story captures the spirit of the myth of Santa Claus and why it has always been important to me, even long after I knew it was just a story. The animating spirit of the myth is that there is a force for good in the universe, Grace, in the Christian tradition, that we do not have to earn, but that we should strive to live up to. Here is the story:
Son: "Dad, I think I'm old enough now. Is there a Santa Claus?."
Dad: "Ok, I agree that your old enough. But before I tell you, I have a question for you. You see, the “truth” is a dangerous gift. Once you know something, you can't unknow it. Once you know the truth about Santa Claus, you will never again understand and relate to him as you do now. So my question is: Are you sure you want to know?"
Brief pause...
Son: "Yes, I want to know"
Dad: "Ok, I'll tell you: Yes there is a Santa Claus"
Son: "Really?"
Dad: Yes, really, but he's not an old man with a beard in a red suit. That's just what we tell kids. You see, kids are too young to understand the true nature of Santa Claus, so we explain it to them in a way that they can understand. The truth about Santa Claus is that he's not a person at all; he's an idea. Think of all those presents Santa gave you over the years. I actually bought those myself. I watched you open them. And did it bother me that you didn't thank me? Of course not! In fact it gave me great pleasure. You see, Santa Claus is THE IDEA OF GIVING FOR THE SAKE OF GIVING, without thought of thanks or acknowledgement.
When I saw that woman collapse on the subway last week and called for help, I knew that she'd never know that it was me that summoned the ambulance. I was being Santa Claus when I did that."
Son: "Oh."
Dad: "So now that you know, you're part of it. You have to be Santa Claus too now. That means you can never tell a young kid the secret, and you have to help us select Santa presents for them, and most important, you have to look for opportunities to help people. Got it?"
Help each other this Christmas🎄🎅 and...be kind
**
Watch
What: Trans Siberian Orchestra, Old City Bar (9 min)
Why: My favorite Christmas carols are religious - O Come All Ye Faithful, Joy to the World, Silent Night. If I had to pick one recording of one song, it would be Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Claus is Coming to Town. However, my vote for best Christmas album is the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Eve and Other Stories. It’s a metal rock concept album woven around a story, and includes both original songs and rock arrangements of classics. The album is built around the three themes of Christmas - selflessness, family, and home. If you haven’t listened to it, I recommend it! You can listen to it on any of the streaming services or even YouTube.
Old City Bar is the pivot point in the album’s story arc. My favorite lines: “I've noticed/If one could be home/They'd be already there.”
**
Listen
What: O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi (13 min)
https://librivox.org/the-gift-of-the-magi-by-o-henry/
Why: This is a classic Christmas short story. You may know the story - but have you read (or listened!) to it as a whole piece recently? The language has an old-fashioned formality to it, which makes it quaint. It is “the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat”, but the effect comes from the selfless love of the characters.
If you want to read it, you can do so here. I was pleased to find a site where people read classic pieces that are in the public domain, so I thought I would share it as this week’s listen.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next week!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Associate Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast:
http://healthleaderforge.org
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picaso