{"id":5214,"date":"2018-12-24T15:33:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T23:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/?p=5214"},"modified":"2018-12-24T15:35:44","modified_gmt":"2018-12-24T23:35:44","slug":"its-silly-but-at-sea-12-24-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/?p=5214","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Silly But\u2026. \u2013 At Sea \u2013 [12\/24\/2018]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"If you cannot accept anything on faith, then you are doomed to a life dominated by doubt.
\n~ Miracle on 34th<\/sup> Street<\/em><\/p>\n

You have to believe in things that aren\u2019t real. Otherwise how else can they become?
\n~ The Hogfather<\/em><\/p>\n

What is this illusion called? the innocence of youth? Maybe only in that blind belief can we ever find the truth ~ Grown up Christmas List<\/em>
\nBut also:<\/p>\n

But I say that it does do harm. I tell her that her is no Santa Claus, and then she comes here and sees a very convincing man with a real beard and a beautiful Santa suit right in the middle of a child\u2019s fantasy world. So who is she to believe? The myth? Or the Mom? ~ Miracle on 34th<\/sup> Street<\/em><\/p>\n

I have been doing a lot of musing these last few days on the idea of belief. What it means, what it is<\/em>, and where the line is.<\/p>\n

One of my high school friends many years ago pointed out that you can\u2019t spell \u201cbelieve\u201d without \u201clie\u201d \u2013 and at the time that made me very angry and sad but I couldn\u2019t understand why. I still don\u2019t completely know why the idea of believing in something is so very important to me.<\/p>\n

Like so many children, I believed in Santa Clause as a child, but the odd thing is I don\u2019t remember<\/em> believing in the actual person \u2013 I\u2019m sure I must have, when I was very small, but my earliest memory is knowing how important the spirit of the thing was. How important it was to be able to put my faith into something that I couldn\u2019t see; I logically understood that the jolly fat man in the red suit was not \u2018real\u2019 in the same sense that my parents and I were, but on some other level I was okay with that. I suppose I could have looked at it as putting my trust in what could ultimately be viewed as a lie (although a lie given with love), but I think looking back it was more a way that I learned how to put my trust in the unknown.<\/p>\n

When I was little, Christmas Eve was the most magical night of the year. Looking back, I don\u2019t think Christmas was really about Christmas Morning for me \u2013 Christmas morning was busy, and it was when people visited and you had to be all dressed up and pretty (yes, my house was strange, we were never a PJ\u2019s on Christmas family) – Christmas Eve though was about me and my parents; the \u201cbest tree we ever had\u201d and decisions for the coming year. And \u2013 whether real or not, hanging the stockings remains a part of that tradition \u2013 not just for me, but for my parents as well (I was never under the impression that Santa filled my parents\u2019 Christmas stockings, but I don\u2019t remember that being an issue either), along with so many other things that remain dear traditions sheltered in my heart. Things that I will probably never give up or give away.<\/p>\n

And I think that is all wrapped up in it too\u2026<\/p>\n

The world is a harsh place. These days, people often learn that young. So many people I love learned it too<\/em> young. Perhaps the reason that – while I detest being lied to \u2013 I have no problem with believing in \u2018mythology\u2019 is because I understand the need to hold onto something<\/em> that makes the world seem a little less harsh. We all need a light in the window, and I think I was lucky enough to have a family who was somehow able to transition me from believing in the elves in the North Pole to the general goodness of humanity.<\/p>\n

As it is, I do remember very clearly the year that it was tacitly decided it was okay for me to stop playing \u2013 but that\u2019s a subject for another post perhaps. If ever. Though it\u2019s not a sad story by any means.<\/p>\n

And I think that\u2019s the key: no one forced<\/em> me to believe. My parents never actually sat me down and told me there was or wasn\u2019t a jolly fat man in a red suit, and I\u2019m fairly certain that if I had ever made it clear that I didn\u2019t want to \u201cplay\u201d that even my Mum would have let my belief (or disbelief) develop (or fade) on it\u2019s own; however much it may have pained her. I think that\u2019s the trick to believing in anything really \u2013 no one can make you do it. You have to come to it on your own. Or not. And if someone actively tells<\/em> you something is true, assures<\/em> you that it\u2019s true when in fact it actually isn\u2019t, rather than letting you decide for yourself what you want to do with the information \u2013 then perhaps that\u2019s the difference between a belief and a lie; however warm-hearted or kindly meant.<\/p>\n

I think over the years my ability to continue to believe in the idea<\/em> behind<\/em> the myth of someone who flies all around the world in one night has come to encompass my deep-seated need to believe that there is something<\/em> worth believing in in this crazy world. Something that can still put a smile on a child\u2019s face \u2013 however brief \u2013 something that for just one or two moments each year, can maybe make the world a little less cynical, a little less skeptical. It is so difficult<\/em> to find that these days. Or at least it feels difficult.<\/p>\n

Some small thing that for just a moment delays finding out just how harsh the world is\u2026gives a much needed excuse to just straight up be kind to each other\u2026<\/p>\n

Sad though, that we need an excuse at all\u2026<\/p>\n

But everyone needs the ability to believe in something<\/em>, I really do hold to that, and belief? I think the ability<\/em> to believe \u2013 not in the religious sense – has to be taught, I don\u2019t think \u2013 sadly \u2013 that belief is something that really comes to us naturally, though it\u2019s something we need desperate, especially now.<\/p>\n

So here I am, on this Christmas Eve, far from home, wishing for my oranges in the glitz and glamour all around me, and silently holding tight to the belief that yes, all this means something, all this is for a reason\u2026<\/p>\n

That believing is not about believing in a person, or a thing, or even a time, it\u2019s about believing in humanity\u2019s ability to be kind\u2026<\/p>\n

So maybe it is<\/em> silly\u2026<\/p>\n

But I believe\u2026<\/p>\n

And as it is Christmas Eve, I will be going to bed uncharacteristically early\u2026<\/p>\n

Merry Christmas everyone\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you cannot accept anything on faith, then you are doomed to a life dominated by doubt. ~ Miracle on 34th Street You have to believe in things that aren\u2019t real. Otherwise how else can they become? ~ The Hogfather … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,103,74,104,17,81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-below-the-waterline","category-cuban-dreams","category-holiday-cruises","category-holiday-cruises-2018","category-reflections-below-the-waterline","category-transitions"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3GtNE-1m6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5214"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5217,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214\/revisions\/5217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}