Am I Too Old For Father Christmas?
By Trinity R. Westfield
Copyright 2011 Trinity R. Westfield
All rights reserved.
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ISBN: 978-0-9872424-5-7 (ebook)
1. Is There Really a Father Christmas?
6. The Magic of Goodness and Giving
________
Is There Really a Father Christmas?
It was yet another Christmas Eve for Leo and he still had never ever seen Father Christmas.
Leo hadn't been able to sleep and sat peering out the window, watching the stars twinkling in the night sky the way that stars twinkle. "Tonight's the night", he thought standing there in his pyjamas. "Yes, tonight's definitely going to be the night".
His eyes were sparkling from excitement. The moon was shining on his dark brown hair. His fingers were white from clenching tightly on the sill of his bedroom window. His eyebrows pointing upward in a hope that tonight he would finally see Father Christmas.
Leo was nine years old now. Almost at double figures, as he would turn ten in February. Leo's bedroom was very colourful. It was filled with boy stuff, some sporty posters on the walls, some family photos and trophies and medals from school sports.
Every Christmas Eve, ever since he could remember, he had spent hours watching the sky, just waiting to get a glimpse of Father Christmas and his reindeers. "Tonight's the night", he thought again. "I can't wait any longer to see you Father Christmas. I just can't wait another year for you. I have to see you tonight. I have to know that you’re real," he thought to himself.
Then suddenly he saw a red light against the darkness of the sky. It blinked once. Then it blinked again just beneath the moon. "It's him!" Leo thought. "Its Father Christmas at last, on his red sleigh with the reindeers," he thought with excitement. His mouth opened in surprise. He squinted his eyes so that he could focus more clearly on Father Christmas flying across the sky.
He stood totally still and watched. He could make out the shape of a sleigh, and things that looked like reindeers moving, which meant only one thing. Father Christmas was sitting in the driver's seat. Leo bounced back from the window and jumped up and down, clapping his hands quietly in excitement. He suddenly remembered he was supposed to be asleep. But he was far too excited at this moment to even think about sleeping.
Then he quickly placed his face against the window again to watch where Father Christmas was headed to next. "He's heading right toward my house," Leo thought in excitement.
The light was now closer and clearer than it was before. Leo's whole face lit up with a huge smile, and his eyes were sparkling even more than they were before. "I am finally going to see him tonight!" he thought.
Then Leo heard a rumble in the sky. He thought Father Christmas was getting closer to his house as he could hear the sound of the sleigh approaching. It sounded like quiet thunder rumbling in the distance. With his eyes peeled to the sky, in an instant his excitement turned to bitter disappointment.
Leo let out a big sigh. "Oh man, it's just a stupid old aeroplane," he said to himself with disappointment in his voice. His body became suddenly heavy and he hung his head down. The aeroplane became louder and then passed over his house. His eyes had played tricks on him again. How many times had he looked into the sky and thought Father Christmas was there? It was many times.
The excitement had now left his body completely and he crawled back into bed, under the cover. "Is there really even such thing as a dumb old Father Christmas?" he asked himself. "If there is, I should have seen him by now.”
“Why can't I ever see him? Am I too old to even meet Father Christmas anymore? I've been as good as I ever could be," he thought to himself. At that same moment he felt a tinge of guilt as he remembered his mother and father had asked him to go straight to sleep that night. Again he then thought about the disappointment he had just experienced and didn’t care about anything.
He was feeling more tired now. His eyes were getting heavy, and as they closed, a single tear dropped down his cheek and onto his pillow. He was losing hope that there really was a Father Christmas. Feeling sad and weary, it wasn’t too long before he was fast asleep.
Leo didn't know at this stage that he would soon know Father Christmas in a way that he could never have imagined or wished for before. Leo had set the forces into motion and he was on his way, on a path, to learn all about the true magic of Father Christmas.
* * * *
The next morning Leo awoke earlier than usual. His body-clock knew it was Christmas morning, one of the most fun days of the year! His very first thought when he awoke was he might be able to catch Father Christmas before he goes back into the chimney.
Still half asleep he ran straight to the Christmas Tree to see if Father Christmas was still there. There was no Father Christmas. "Of course he isn't here," Leo said quietly to himself. "I’m never going to see Father Christmas."
But Leo's memories of last night were soon forgotten as he searched under the Christmas Tree to see how many Christmas presents there were to open today. Suddenly he noticed there were more presents than usual under the tree with his name on it. "Wow," he thought. "This year I've got more presents than ever before."
Leo was now old enough to know that Christmas wasn’t just about presents. He had learnt it was mainly about the birth of a baby in a manger many years ago. People called him Christ and that’s where the word Christmas came from. He'd also heard about St. Nicholas, who used to visit towns each year and give gifts to good children, similar to Father Christmas. He knew it was all about giving and being kind to each other and other good stuff. Though he’d learnt all of this, he was still very excited about his presents.
He waded through the assorted parcels. There was the usual one from Father Christmas, one from his mother and father, and other presents from his cousins and friends. Then he noticed one present with his name on it. This present seemed to sparkle more than the others under the Christmas Tree, because of the wrapping, but the tag didn’t say who it was from.
By this time he was so excited. He couldn't wait to open the anonymous present, as well as the present from Father Christmas, but he knew he had to wait for his family to wake up too.
At that moment his mother walked into the room in her dressing gown with a big smile on her face and asked, "Did Father Christmas leave any presents for you this year Leo?". Leo smiled and felt comforted by his mother’s voice. Then he immediately started telling his mother about all the presents he had found with his name on it.
Soon enough all the family were gathered around the Christmas Tree and opened the presents. Leo's mum, his dad, and his little sister, Samantha. Everybody was so happy.
Leo had received a remote-control robot from Father Christmas with the newest hand-held video game. It was just what he had asked for from the Father Christmas in the shopping centre. Although Leo was a little older and more sceptical this year, Leo still wondered how Father Christmas got it right every year. Either way it made him happy.
He carried on opening all of his presents. It was so much fun for him as every present was a new surprise to him. He received some games, some cool t-shirts, a new football, and many more fun things.
The last one he opened was the present from the anonymous person; the one that the tag didn’t say who it was from. He saved this one until last because he liked the way the wrapping paper sparkled more than the others. He undid the wrapping and slowly looked inside.
The present was a shiny orange coloured book called "AM I TOO OLD FOR FATHER CHRISTMAS?" Funnily enough, he wasn't sure how to feel about this present. He was grateful for the present, but the thought of reading reminded him of school. He wondered who would give him such a present? The present also made him wonder if he was getting too old to meet Father Christmas?
He liked books and the title of this one caught his interest. He had heard of this book, and that only big kids could read it because some of the words were too long and too hard to read. Leo was never really interested in reading a book like this because he never wanted to be too old for Father Christmas. He thought that if he became too old for Father Christmas he would never get to see Father Christmas and no longer receive any presents.
As much as he loved school and books, this was Christmas day so he wasn’t interested in reading it yet. So he put the book aside and started playing with his brand new hand-held video game.
The morning’s Christmas activity hummed along in the background while Leo played with his new presents. His mother and father were making breakfast. His little sister nearby was playing with some of her new toys. Family and friends came and went. Overall it was a fun day for Leo and his family.
With his mind on many other things throughout the day, all day Leo had forgotten about the mystery present he'd found under the Christmas Tree this year. But he also didn't realise how powerful and magical this book really was; yet he was about to find out!
* * * *
________
The Magic of Listening
It was now early in the morning and the day after Christmas. Leo couldn't actually remember going to bed the night before. Christmas day was always a big day for kids.
Now he was awake in his bed and noticed the shiny orange book he had received was sitting on the floor near his bed. He got out of bed and picked up the book and was curious. It was a little sparkly, almost like there was a bright light shining from within the book.
Still in his pyjamas he crawled back into bed under the covers with the book, then looked at the cover of the book, "AM I TOO OLD FOR FATHER CHRISTMAS?". Why did he get this book? Who gave it to him?
He didn't want to be too old for Father Christmas because he hadn't even seen the real Father Christmas yet, and he still wanted to receive presents from Father Christmas. Other children had said they'd seen the real Father Christmas. Why couldn't he?
He was about to place the book on his bedside table to go back to sleep. Then for some reason, Leo suddenly felt a strong urge to open the book and start reading. Fighting between his morning tiredness and this unbelievable urge to open the book, Leo resigned to opening the book. The words that he read were in big, bold letters on the page, "THE MAGIC OF LISTENING".
Then something strange instantly happened ….
No sooner had Leo placed his eyes on these words in the book, Leo suddenly found himself swirling swiftly through a huge, colourful, spiral tunnel at high speeds. Leo was feeling stunned and scared, but oddly felt happy and excited all at the same time.
It was so scary and confusing for him as he didn't know what was happening, but he was also having fun! He felt a soft tickling feeling throughout his body. He couldn't help from laughing aloud while speeding through this mysterious tunnel. The tunnel seemed like it went for miles, but funnily enough it only lasted a few seconds. Then it suddenly stopped as quickly as it had started.
Leo was wide-awake now and he looked around in absolute wonder.
Where he’d landed was a truly beautiful and amazing sight to Leo. "Where am I?" Leo thought. It was so peaceful and silent too. Something Leo wasn't quite used to, especially the day after Christmas.
He was still holding onto the book, but he was now in a completely different world. His pyjamas had somehow changed, and he noticed he was now wearing some of his favourite every-day clothes. All around him he could see many colours floating in the air, almost like a mist of coloured water particles.
There were sparkling colourful stars in the sky too, sparkling against a beautiful colourful sky. He saw a lake that kept changing from one brilliant colour to another as the breeze blew, and trees with golden leaves that shone from the reflection of all of the colours surrounding it.
Then the answer to his question, about where he was, came from the last place Leo would have expected. It came from the book he was holding. On TV and in movies he had seen talking horses, talking dogs, talking trees, talking almost anything, but this book was now talking to him.
He gasped in surprise. It was a funny looking, friendly face that appeared on the cover of the book as a hologram image. It looked a little like a leprechaun's face. His face was orange with different shades to highlight his features. He also had two wobbly horns sticking out from the top of his head, with circles at the top of each horn.
The funny face then talked in a leprechaun's accent. "Leo, you are ready to learn about the magic and wonder of your life," the book said with a friendly smile. "Your first journey will be one of learning all about the magic of listening."
Although caught by surprise, Leo couldn't help but think the book had made a mistake. What more could he possibly learn about listening? He knew he had ears, and he knew about eardrums and this is how he could hear and listen. For such a magical place, Leo couldn't help but think this was a mistake and that somebody had given the book to the wrong person. Nonetheless the friendly face had captivated him.
"Leo, you are on a journey now and I will be your friend and your guide," the book said in a friendly voice. "My name is Bookar. All you have to do is trust what you see and hear Leo, and I'm sure you won't have any regrets. You will learn lots of wonderful and amazing things today, but it's all up to you and your choices to do this. This book is your new game."
Game? Leo didn't realise this book was a game. Before Leo could say anything more Bookar went on to say, "I have a special trick for you. I am now going to leave you in silence in this beautiful place for you to simply sit comfortably and listen."
"Take time to listen Leo," the book repeated. "Close your eyes and simply listen. If you pass this exercise the prize at the end will be well worth it to you. There is no time to ask questions now. I will be back in exactly ten minutes."
Then with that, the face disappeared from the cover of the book and the cover turned back into a normal book cover.
"Ten minutes," Leo thought. Ten minutes seemed like an eternity to a child. He couldn't possibly know what to do in silence for ten minutes. He quickly looked around in search for any hints, but couldn't see anything or any way out of this funny place.
Taking trust in the friendly face that he had just encountered, he sat comfortably on the soft grass and closed his eyes. His competitive spirit had now taken over him, and he was determined to get through this exercise to receive his prize in this game.
Leo then started listening in silence, but he couldn't hear anything because the mysterious place he was in was so peaceful and quiet. He thought there must be some sounds to hear, otherwise what was the purpose of this part of the game. He wondered what the catch was and what he had to do.
He kept trying to listen to hear something, anything, but still he couldn't hear anything. He thought he had failed the game already, but he was determined to carry on until the ten minutes was up. He sat in silence with his eyes closed, and listened again.
Two minutes passed and still nothing. He took a deep breath (which was almost a sigh) which caused him to relax a little. As he did this, Leo started thinking in his mind and remembering his Christmas toys, and his computer and TV games.
He could hear the swishing sounds of the jumps and kicks on the TV screen, and he could see and hear the characters in the many fun animated games he had played.
Another minute passed and Leo took another deep breath. He found that with each deep breath he took, he felt a little more relaxed. The pictures and sounds in his mind he could see and hear now changed to his family and his friends.
Then he started hearing his mother's voice saying things like, "dinner's ready," "Leo clean your room please," or "Leo help your sister …". He heard his little sister laughing, and also crying.
For the first time in his life, Leo was purposely listening to his thoughts, of which there were many and they were happening quickly. Nobody had taught him before to sit and listen to his own thoughts, so this was a new experience for him.
Then he remembered the many times, as he was growing up, that his mother or father had sent him to his room to think about something he had done. Leo never really understood why he had to go to his room to think, and he usually just closed the door and played with one of his games or toys.
Is this what they meant about thinking about what I had done. He suddenly realised he could think about how he could do things differently? It now made more sense to him. This insight made him relax even more.
Then suddenly he heard an unfamiliar voice in his mind. "Hello Leo," the voice said in a deep, but very wise and friendly man's voice. It wasn't Bookar's accent, but he felt unusually comforted by the voice, and felt somehow that it was very familiar to him.
"I am your higher voice Leo," it said in a deep voice again. Leo's eyes were still closed while the voice continued. "My name is Yohio."
Yohio continued. "If you ever need any help in your life Leo, I am always here for you. I always have been, and always will be. I can answer any question in the world you ever need answered."
Yohio then went on to explain how Leo could call on him at any time, day or night. He said Leo could think of him as a sort of genie.
He explained how he was actually a part of Leo, and that he was a very wise part of Leo's mind and structure. Leo listened intently, absorbing this new and mystical information
Yohio explained that people actually have up to 80,000 thoughts per day, and the thoughts of each person created their life and the life around them. Leo was mind-boggled at the amount of thoughts people have each day.
Yohio also explained that any time Leo was faced with a challenge or problem in his life, and when none of his family or friends are able to help him with the challenge, all he had to do was sit quietly in silence and listen for Yohio's voice. Yohio would always help Leo to find the answer to any question in the world.
He explained that the trick was to get past the 80,000 thoughts that play continuously in our mind each day.
"Wow," Leo thought. He made a mental note to become more aware of his own 80,000 thoughts in his life each day. Then he started thinking about all the questions that he could ask Yohio.
How to be the best football player in the school? How do stars shine in the sky? Why does his little sister annoy him so much sometimes? But most of all, when will he ever see Father Christmas?
"Slow down. Slow down," Yohio's voice said. Yohio always knew exactly what Leo was thinking, as he was a part of Leo's mind. "It is natural to have so many questions at first, but focus on one question at a time and you will be guaranteed an answer every time."
"This game has been given to you because you are ready to start moving toward your adult life now. You have passed the first exercise. You now know how to sit and listen in stillness and wait patiently for my voice.”
“Remember I am always here whenever you need me. All you have to do is close your eyes and listen."
Yohio's voice started to fade, but repeating the words to Leo. "All you have to do is listen and be in the now, listen and be in the now," until Leo heard no more …
Then Leo's eyes suddenly opened and the funny friendly face on the cover of the shiny book was back. "So Leo, you have gained a wonderful prize here haven’t you?" Bookar said.
"You have now made contact with Yohio, your higher voice. So you now have access to the answers to any question in the world. This is a grand prize indeed!" Leo contemplated this thought for a moment, as it was too mind-blowing for him to comprehend at this stage.
I now have the answers to any question in the world. And all I have to do is stop and listen to my higher voice.
His imagination was now triggered stronger than ever before.
With eyes wide open now Leo thanked the book with excitement for this wonderful prize. He thought about all the fantastic things he could do with the answers to any question in the world.
He couldn't wait to get back to his home to start asking for some answers to questions. He asked the book how to get back home so that he could start using this new information.
The book spoke to Leo. "Making contact with Yohio is truly a grand prize that you have earned," Bookar said. "But you have yet another grand prize coming your way if you choose to play on Leo."
Leo wondered what he could possibly need more than having the answers to any question in the world, but he was curious. The book said, "All you have to do Leo is turn to the next page. The choice is yours. You have many more surprises awaiting you if you choose to play this game."
Eager to know more, Leo turned to the next page. Then before he knew it, he was jolted into another spiral vortex tunnel.
The spirals were black and white this time. He was moving faster and faster. Faster than the speed of light! Leo's skin felt tight around his face from the aerodynamics of the speed, with his face twisting and turning with the speed.
"Whooaaa!" Leo tried to let out a noise, any noise in an attempt to yell for help as this was really scaring him. Through the vortex he travelled as it carried on.
Then the tunnel turned dark and black, and he felt like he was floating weightless in this darkness. Leo became more scared now and thought, "I don't want to play this game any more. BOOKAR!" He called out, "YOHIO!"
Leo wasn’t sure at all which way he was turned. He felt like a spaceman floating in zero gravity, but in complete darkness. He became very frightened as he wasn’t sure what he had got himself into this time. He wanted to turn back. "BOOKAR!" he called out again.
Then the floating sensation was jolted to a stop, like a show ride coming to the final stop. Leo’s head jolted forward slightly. Then suddenly it jolted back as he was forced forward.
He was on his way again, travelling at great speeds through yet another spiral vortex tunnel, but this time the spirals were many colours. "Whooaaa!" he tried to let out a noise again in the force of the speed.
Then he felt another jolt. It was over as quickly as it had started. Leo felt exhilarated. The same feeling you have after being on a roller-coaster ride. A little relieved, but high on adrenalins from the speed and uncertainty of the ride.
He had arrived at his next destination in this game, and Leo couldn't believe his eyes!
* * * *
________
The Magic of Learning
Leo had stopped moving now and he was standing in another completely different world. There were colourful stars in a bright coloured sky, similar to the last place. This time the stars were slowly moving toward him, closer and closer. The stars then surrounded him, giving him a wonderfully warm tingling feeling.
For several moments he couldn't see anything further than the sparkling stars dancing around him in their amazing colourful display. Leo noticed he was still holding the book and he read the title of the next chapter aloud, "THE MAGIC OF LEARNING".
At that moment, the stars that were gathered closely around him suddenly moved back into the sky.
Leo's surroundings had totally transformed. He was surrounded by what looked like transparent bubbles of four-dimensional movie pictures floating all around him and above him. The bubbles were about the size of a basketball. Some of the movie pictures inside the bubbles were surprisingly familiar to him, and there were some unfamiliar pictures.
He could also smell aromas coming from the pictures around him as they floated past. There were thousands upon thousands of bubbles of moving pictures. They seemed to go for miles. It was like being surrounded by thousands of circular TV screens, but the pictures were more like real life, and the circular TV screens were like round bubbles. He could see inside from any angle.
One bubble floated past slowly, and Leo amazingly saw himself inside the picture. Leo’s eyes almost popped out of his head as he watched. It was his last birthday, and he was watching himself playing. He also saw himself blowing out the candles and eating cake. He could smell the smoke from the candles as the bubble drifted by. He could also smell the tasty treats his mother and father had made for him for his birthday.
The pictures were just like real life to his eyes, and Leo was amazed. Another bubble then floated by. This one had a large crowd cheering in a large football stadium. Although there was a lot to take in with this bubble, he was able to be aware of everything that was happening within the picture.
The next bubble that floated by contained a magnificent Fun-Park inside it, with all types of amazing roller-coaster rides and fun to be had. It was just the sort of Fun-Park Leo would love to visit with his friends. "What are these bubble things?" Leo thought to himself curiously.
Another bubble floated by. This one looked like outer space and contained alien looking creatures in it. "Wow!" he thought. His curiosity suddenly got the better of him, so he reached inside the bubble to touch one of the alien looking creatures. He thought he would feel nothing, similar to three-dimensional movies that looked so real but you can't really feel anything.
Leo reached in, then suddenly gasped and fell back onto the ground in shock and surprise. It was amazing. Leo had actually felt the green skin of this creature in the bubble. Not only that, in response to Leo touching it the alien had let out a little giggle! Then Leo turned himself around on the ground after his fall backward.
He was just about to get up to carry on observing the bubbles, but he looked up and around. Not only had he touched the creature and the creature let out a giggle, he was now inside the bubble picture with the alien creature and only an arm's length away from this alien creature. “Holy smoke!” Leo whispered to himself in fright.
"Well hello!" the alien creature said with a friendly giggle. "I'm glad you have selected me to explain your next adventure and your world of possibilities," he said in a funny, but highly intelligent voice.
The alien stood next to Leo then helped Leo up from the ground. Leo felt the creature’s strong, but gentle, hairless hands on his arms as he stumbled up.
Leo took a deep breath in an attempt to relax and take in what was happening here. He looked around and noticed there were two moons against a deep blue sky, and a red sun also.
He suddenly realised that the bubbles were obviously five-dimensional movie pictures, rather than just four-dimensional. Still a little frightened of this unknown creature, he took a step back.
The alien was slightly shorter than Leo. It had quite a large head, which looked out of proportion compared to the size of its body. It had a small mouth and large, dark eyes that mirrored Leo's reflection in them. It was a totally green-grey colour, with no hair on his body anywhere.
Its arms, legs and body were very skinny. They were so skinny that Leo wondered how he could hold his head up. Leo also noticed it had four fingers and a thumb on each hand, the same as him.
In the reflection of the alien's eyes Leo saw his own reflection and he noticed he looked scared, so he quickly tried to compose himself in an attempt to be brave. The alien seemed to be reading his thoughts. Leo could feel a warm energy coming from the creature’s huge head, and he noticed that its brain started glowing red underneath its skin.
"Lucky for you, you didn't try touching that creature over there!" he said with a laugh, and tilting his large head back. The alien was pointing to a large creature licking his lips and snorting loudly through his nose and mouth.
Leo wasn't sure about the timing of the creature's sense of humour, but the alien's comment did comfort him and put a somewhat cautious smile on Leo's face. "You are very safe here Leo. My name is Postor," the alien creature said. "There is nothing here that will harm you in any way. Even that snorting creature over there is harmless. You are very safe, as this is your world of possibilities."
Leo was beginning to feel safer now, and the alien seemed to comfort him with ease. After a little more small chat and a few giggles, Leo was feeling quite relaxed with Postor.
Now that Leo was feeling more at ease, Postor commenced explaining to Leo what the giant bubbles actually were. He explained that the “bubble theatres” represented all the possibilities in the world.
He then explained how the bubbles represented many “reality-dramas” adults could create once they knew how to. It was like reality TV or a movie drama, where you get to write a script and film the movie, only it's a movie of your own lifetime that you create and direct.
All of the possibilities in the universe are captured in these millions upon millions of bubbles, waiting to become somebody's real life story. Postor then explained to Leo that in learning how to create, Leo could choose to create his own life path and story.