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“If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.”

~ Bob Hope

It doesn’t matter if Santa Claus is real or not because he represents some remarkable qualities that we can all learn from.

In many ways, he is better able to show us true spirituality than the average guru.

6 Lessons From Santa

1. He asks us to be good. Which is significant considering many of us are selfish and greedy.

2. He gives to everyone, whoever and wherever they are, all at pretty much the same time. And he does it without asking for anything in return—except for the odd glass of milk and cookies. He has a generous heart, one that takes great joy in giving without needing to receive. Giving with no expectation of getting is the quickest route to happiness. Through giving to others, a la Santa, we get away from selfishness and neediness.

Yet, he does not give blindly. Rather, he considers what is the most appropriate gift for each. This shows great discernment. Too often we give without thinking, so here Santa shows us how giving needs wisdom in order to be of most benefit.

3. He listens to our requests and reads our letters. He takes the time to hear and pay attention, which we could all do more of. How often do we really listen to someone without judging them, or without imposing our own thoughts on them or telling them what we think is right for them?

4. He has great psychic powers: flies in the sky with reindeer, descends chimneys without getting covered in soot, he goes by many names and forms, and is extraordinarily elusive. Has anyone actually ever seen him?

The lesson here is that we can all do more than we think we can, and we don’t need to be applauded. We can practice random acts of kindness quietly, simply, without bringing attention to ourselves.

5. He’s filled with joy and lifts our spirits at the darkest time. And we can do the same for each other. No need to spread doom and gloom, no need to focus on what is wrong with ourselves or the world. When we focus on what is good, we bring lightness of spirit to others as well as ourselves.

6. He knows where we live. In other words, he is inside every one of us. Santa is our true, authentic self that is there when we let go of our ego-centered needs.

Giving—whether a smile, our time, a listening ear, food or material gifts—is profoundly joyful, both to the one who is receiving and the one who is giving.

The essence of this is an open heart, a free mind, and a blissful spirit. True generosity is giving without any thought of getting or receiving; it is unconditional, unattached, free to land wherever it will. Through giving and sharing in this way, we soon find that we do not lose anything; we don’t have any less. Rather, we gain so much.

Happy Holidays and Happy Giving!

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” ~ Winston Churchill

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Editor: Rachel Nussbaum

Image: Wikimedia Commons