Santa Claus Argument

Is it okay to lie to your children?

Is it okay to let your children believe in a fantasy being as part of a holiday celebration?

If you answered "No" to the first question and "Yes" to the second, then you are a participant in the Santa Claus Argument.

My Parents didn't believe in lying to us, so we grew up knowing that Santa wasn't real, the Tooth Fairy didn't exist and the Easter Bunny was just an artistic representation for life's renewal and not an actual critter.

But there is a part of me, deep down inside that believes, that knows intuitively that Santa is Real! I see it every winter as the darkness closes in on us and the nights get longer, people light up the night with candles in windows and lights on house trim, giving that hope that the sun will come back. People give of themselves at homeless shelters, buying gifts for needy children and celebrating long after the belief in Saint Nick compelled us to be "Nice."

If anything as we age the simple winter celebration becomes more important.

The End is Near!

As the end of the Mayan Calendar gets closer I find I can no longer be blasé about it.

I thought that it would be like this last decade's Y2K a lot of build up with nothing to show for it.

Even my earlier argument that its going to be the end of an age, not the end of the world.

But there is a lot going on Celestially that hints that it could be a very bad thing for humanity this Winter Solstice. I don't have a lot to write, but I hope that if it does come about that the solar storm they are expecting does happen it only knocks out the power grid and doesn't kill us.

I hope that it is just the end of an age and not an Alien invasion.

Learning from what you Read: V

Character Creation. Jill suggests in building your characters, the protagonist in particular should be slightly off the beaten path, original, the type of person that is just shy of mainstream, "Square Peg in a Round Hole" sorts as she says.

Looking for a way to represent that character type she suggests an open expression of an uncommon opinion. And I hesitate, bursting to my tongue and dancing like pop-rocks is a singular question:

"What makes an opinion uncommon?"

Opinions are governed by perception, you can put two hundred people in a room with a painting and each person will perceive something different, that perception will aid in the forming of an opinion. Logically that infers that each persons opinion will be unique even if they are in agreement.

But I digress and am now arguing with myself.

Rules to govern Square Pegs: I laughed when I started reading this, as I am more than a little unusual (per my peers, friends and colleagues) I decided to forgive and continue reading. Now first I will cite Jill, then I will give my interpretation.

• "The character's square-peg nature has to be believable, not just something you tacked on to make them stand out.."
• "Know why you're character is an outsider."

 Schizophrenia runs in my family. My Grandmother was diagnosed in the early '60's... That sort of influence compels my siblings and I to step out of the box when listening to what others have to say and makes people look at us and judge us on how we act or what we say. Now it creates a problem when you are scrutinized like that you either become hyper sensitive to other peoples opinions or you stop caring completely, so I stopped caring and started saying and acting in a way that I can live with and not how society thinks I should.

• "Does your character know that they are different?"
• "Over time are the assimilated or adapted into society?"

Its not socially acceptable to say what you think and mean what you say, but I do, so I'm careful to make certain that I don't say anything in the heat of the moment, this removes the need to apologize. I resent apologies I feel that the lowest form of subjugation is forcing someone else to change who they are, and even if you regret your actions later, at the time you acted you were passionately vested in what you were doing. Its easier for me to accept, "It was never my intention to hurt you." Than "I'm sorry that I offended you." for some people its saying the same thing, but the second statement implies that if you could go back and undo what you did you would while the first acknowledges how their actions impacted another and clarifies that any pain caused was accidental. I know that this puts me in the minority but its an example of an acknowledged character quirk.

I know I am different.

Over time society, or at least my peers have accepted me, but I would not say that I have a great many close friends.

Ice Queen

I have never understood people with fast hot tempers that blow over quickly. My whole life it has been my preference to walk away and digest the situation, let my temper cool and then like my mother in time or over time I strike back and hit three times as hard.

I think I mentioned the abusive relationship my friend is in, the reason I moved to MD, I was right things have escalated and now its time to get her out. Applying for work in a different area again, just need 5000.00 to help us get back to Utah and get first and last months rent. Dreading how that will impact my health, I have been better here but we need to be close to family.

Trying to get her to play it cool through the end of the month will be hard.

If you want to help:

Snippet

The sword slipped between her ribs and the boning in her corset, only to be quickly withdrawn leaving a swift burning arc in its wake as she folded in on herself and sank to the floor, deep crimson blossoming from the pale muslin.

The sharp chime of boot heals on the once rich marble rang through the hall as the dark man moved on, leaving her in the slowly growing pool as the warmth fled.

Like an echo in the night the old words swelled forth...

Bonds of Blood
Bound by Blood
Hand and Foot
And at the Root
A hundred years
A thousand more
What now we mourn
Shall be reborn...

Learning from what you Read: IV

Back on July 25th there was a post on Writing as a Sacred Path, that I just didn’t understand, so I let it sit in my email inbox where I could re-read it and think on the subject.

Jill talks about an experience in Italy where she is crushed by a sense of social correctness, stopping her from enjoying herself and causing an awkward situation over a cough that gets gradually worse, people stare at her and ignore her and it gets worse as she leaves.

Fear and social stress impact.

Stress can effect some people physically and no two people are affected the same way. Our upbringing (nature versus nurture) has a large impact on who we become in life, what we do, how we react.

I am a very analytical person, I think I am the way I am because of my parents and siblings when I was reading Jill's soliloquy at first I scoffed, I admit I almost erased it from my inbox after the first reading but her brief explanation was almost terse when she mentioned her mother and spoke volumes of why it was so important for her to set her thoughts and feelings into words even if I can't internalize the experience. I see the older of two or three children in an upper middle class or moderately affluent family, her mother was likely overly controlling given her need to stretch her wings later in life. The psychological impact fascinated me and made me reflect on a Sociology class I once took.

See, analytical to a fault.

Interesting reading though Birth Order and Personality.