Calvin and Hobbes' Christmas comic strips

Christmas is just days away. When I was a kid, the thing that I looked forward most about Christmas was Santa's gift. Starting November, I usually get more conscious of my actions, worried that Santa might not give me a nice gift if I'm bad. And I thought that if I'm extra good towards the year-end, Santa will forget about the bad things that I did earlier in the year and would reconsider giving me a nice present! Haha...

Here are some Calvin and Hobbes Christmas strips which somehow reflect my thoughts about Santa when I was a kid.



I always wondered how Santa determined if I've been good or bad but unlike Calvin, I never thought about using temporary insanity as justification for my misdeeds! Haha...


Tried to be good most of the time... bad things inexplicably kept happening... got blamed for things he did only sort of on purpose... really nice try, Calvin! I've never been this good at making excuses. Haha...


Simple risk analysis?! Haha... But let's admit it, the thought of Santa being able to deliver gifts to all kids all over the globe in one night does sound preposterous - even to a kid. I actually had to look up what preposterous means when I read this strip! Haha... It means "contrary to reason or common sense". Anyway, there were times when I had doubts about Santa too when I was a kid because a lot of my classmates said so. But I defended him because I've been getting gifts from him every year. The only time I knew the truth was when my brothers squealed it out when I was about 10 (or 11) years old. That old already! Haha... But those 10 years were the best Christmases I ever had!:)

The story of Tanzan and Ekido: How to let go of negativity

If you're having a hard time letting go of negative thoughts and emotions, here's an enlightening story from Eckhart Tolle's New Earth entitled "Carrying the Past".

There were 2 Zen monks - Tanzan and Ekido - walking together one day in a muddy road. Along the way, they came upon a young woman, wearing a kimono, who was trying to cross the road. But because the mud was deep, it would surely ruin her kimono so Tanzan picked her up and carried her to the other side of the road.

The 2 monks walked in silence. After 5 hours and nearing their temple, Ekido asked:
"Why did you carry the woman? We, monks, aren't supposed to do things like that."

Tanzan replied: "I put the girl down hours ago. Are you still carrying her?"

Imagine how life would be if we're like Ekido! Unable and unwilling to let go internally and accumulating unnecessary mental baggage. Such waste of time and energy. Moral of the story? Let's nip negative thoughts in the bud because really, there's no good reason to collect and carry them in the first place:)