Things I thought on waking up this morning--I'll try to remember 5 things; I'm sure I had 5 thoughts

(Not necessarily in the order I thought them, just in the order that I'm remembering them).

1. How odd it is (is it odd?) that I've become a Born Again, Spiritual Atheist, and yet, still believe in "Santa Claus," "Jolly Old Nick," "Chimney John," "Pelsnickel" (or whatever you choose to name him).
   
   1. This probably makes me an opposite of most Christianly-raised adults, who want kids to grow out of belief in Santa at some point, while still keeping their faith in God.
      
   2. The thing is, "The Solstice Gift-Giver (of whatever name)" is a personification of Nature, and of Generosity on the mortal plane, in the Here-and-Now. And in my personal ethics schema, it's the Here-and-Now that is the most important. And being a personification is just as powerful as being tangibly "real." So maybe that's why.
      
   3. Also, "Santa" is one of those Otherworld / Realm of the Dead figures who makes housecalls (unlike the ghosts and ghoulies of Halloween, who wait for you to venture out), and he brings you gifts / presents from his Otherworld Realm, which is an infusion of magic and creativity into our here-and-now lives, and maybe that's why Santa is extra magical, and losing belief in him strikes many as extra-sad.
      
   4. BUT -- I still cringe at the thought that Belief = Good. You don't have to believe in God, or Santa, or the Sandman, or anything else, to have a strong, ethical character.
   
   
   
2. I wish those relatives who send me Christmas cards, each year, would include their email addresses. The Internet is the bestest, most accessible way for me to stay in touch with the world.
   
   
3. Cake gingerbread is the Bestest thing in the whole world, especially this time of year. And I want some. I'm really grateful that I have no food allergies.
   
   
4. I like to watch How-to / Crafting Vids; Many focus on small, homemade gifts. Many are all about creatively wrapping up foods / candies as appreciation gifts for teachers / service providers, et alia. But this strikes me as risky, because so many people do have food allergies, and you may not know about them. If I had kids in school, or had more contact with the outside world, and needed to come up with a long list of people to give small gifts to, at the end of the year, I think I'd choose to do something like artsy refrigerator magnets, attached to post-it notepads -- something useful. Or maybe make a bunch small desk calenders. Something like that. Food makes wonderful gifts, but I'd only give them to family or friends, so I'd know if anything was off limits.
   
   
5. My Doctor Who, Mary-Sueish daydreams (yes, I have them -- doesn't every DW fan, at some point, daydream of being a companion?) are less about the adventures on far-away planets, then they are about the day I return to Earth, and reestablish my relationships with friends, and how to deal with folding in all the experiences I've lived through back into my Earthly life. I got stuck in such a daydream, yesterday, and couldn't get out of it.
   
   I think this means that I wish my life had a reset button... (and that I could meet up with friends, and get/give hugs) :-/

I almost didn't include the first item on this list, for being atheist-centric, because I know many on my reading-friends list are Believing Christians. But I went ahead with it, because I intend it merely as a statement of my own beliefs, and in no way a criticism of anyone else's.

Also, it give me context for this vid -- "Zat you, Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong. And I was in the mood to share some music, and a vid:

It takes a while to load, even with my broadband, but if you can watch it, it's worth it. :-)