Tuesday, April 19, 2005
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Charles Dickens rocks! Last night I watched another twisted, feminized version of the classic "A Christmas Carol"—in April, -- and realized that Dickens was a therapy genius. He knew the secrets of a well-balanced mind. I'd always seen the "shallow" Christmassy side of the story—the surface of it. But, last night, as I watched, I finally understood exactly what it meant—and it was quite a revelation. As a result, I cannot understand how anybody can NOT read this novel at any normal time of the year.
The story talks about Scrooge, who is an aged business man with a few "grudges" against the world. The people around him do not care for him, as he doesn't show concern at all for them, being miserly and cold-hearted. (But, WE love Scrooge, because he is one of those inimitable Dickensian characters that grab us by the "pity" gland, and we all know someone like him.) One night, after an exhaustingly frustrating day at work when everyone seems to be holding out their empty money cup to him, (his underpaid clerk asking for his paycheck and a duo of charity ambassadors), Scrooge returns home, only to find a ghoulish representation of his former partner waiting for him. Marley. Marley explains that Life is more than money, money, money, and that Scrooge will end up in chains like himself, if he doesn't listen to the three ghosts following him…the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. To make this long story short, and you already know it, (if you don't, I would suggest you read it, or watch it, or whatever…) the ghosts lead him through a series of pictures of his own life from the past, scenes of the lives of people in the present that he is effecting, and possible events that will occur in the future should he decide that this ghostly adventure is hogwash. Needless to say, by morning, he is a changed man…giving, loving, and ready for the spirit of Christmas to invade his territory.
The point of all of this, is that Dickens knew that in order to heal a person's heart, the person MUST go back into their past and relive the painful things. We must, as humans, identify those things in us that have caused us to be bitter, or angry or hurtful, or even depressed and sad. Whatever is wrong in our lives in the present must be found at the root in the past. This is the only way to understand ourselves…why we do the things we do. And it is always the first step. We cannot deal with the present until we have dealt with our past. It's not just the painful things that Scrooge had to relive…he also was shown scenes of happiness in his past. Things that he'd pushed so far down into his heart, beneath all the bitterness, that he'd forgotten about them. We need to remember the laughter as well as the tears…(that's cliché, I know, but its true). It is in our background that our foreground lies. Our future depends on how well we deal with what is behind us. How we end up, whether alone or surrounded by friends and family, is directly related to the events that shaped us. God never lets us suffer with more than is possible for us to survive, and sometimes, all we DO is survive, (but we survive). This being said, there are no second chances, and if we keep saying, "I CAN'T think about that…I don't think I could EVER try to deal with that part of my past", or "It is embarrassing to remember that…", or "I don't want anyone ever to know about that," then it will never be healed, and the present will never work out, and the future will be bleak. I promise.
The story talks about Scrooge, who is an aged business man with a few "grudges" against the world. The people around him do not care for him, as he doesn't show concern at all for them, being miserly and cold-hearted. (But, WE love Scrooge, because he is one of those inimitable Dickensian characters that grab us by the "pity" gland, and we all know someone like him.) One night, after an exhaustingly frustrating day at work when everyone seems to be holding out their empty money cup to him, (his underpaid clerk asking for his paycheck and a duo of charity ambassadors), Scrooge returns home, only to find a ghoulish representation of his former partner waiting for him. Marley. Marley explains that Life is more than money, money, money, and that Scrooge will end up in chains like himself, if he doesn't listen to the three ghosts following him…the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. To make this long story short, and you already know it, (if you don't, I would suggest you read it, or watch it, or whatever…) the ghosts lead him through a series of pictures of his own life from the past, scenes of the lives of people in the present that he is effecting, and possible events that will occur in the future should he decide that this ghostly adventure is hogwash. Needless to say, by morning, he is a changed man…giving, loving, and ready for the spirit of Christmas to invade his territory.
The point of all of this, is that Dickens knew that in order to heal a person's heart, the person MUST go back into their past and relive the painful things. We must, as humans, identify those things in us that have caused us to be bitter, or angry or hurtful, or even depressed and sad. Whatever is wrong in our lives in the present must be found at the root in the past. This is the only way to understand ourselves…why we do the things we do. And it is always the first step. We cannot deal with the present until we have dealt with our past. It's not just the painful things that Scrooge had to relive…he also was shown scenes of happiness in his past. Things that he'd pushed so far down into his heart, beneath all the bitterness, that he'd forgotten about them. We need to remember the laughter as well as the tears…(that's cliché, I know, but its true). It is in our background that our foreground lies. Our future depends on how well we deal with what is behind us. How we end up, whether alone or surrounded by friends and family, is directly related to the events that shaped us. God never lets us suffer with more than is possible for us to survive, and sometimes, all we DO is survive, (but we survive). This being said, there are no second chances, and if we keep saying, "I CAN'T think about that…I don't think I could EVER try to deal with that part of my past", or "It is embarrassing to remember that…", or "I don't want anyone ever to know about that," then it will never be healed, and the present will never work out, and the future will be bleak. I promise.
