The Ghost of Christmas Present “There are some upon this earth of yours,” returned the Spirit, “who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.” 

- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

One of the odd benefits of having OCD is enjoying the same thing over and over again without getting bored.  It comes in handy from time to time. Although, it can be known to drive others crazy…my husband for one. My current fixation is A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.

I have watched A Christmas Carol several times this week, much to my husband’s dismay. I hear him grumble every time the opening music plays. 

It’s the new Disney version with Jim Carrey playing Ebenezer Scrooge, as well as each of the three spirits. And as far as adaptations go, I think it does an excellent job interpreting Dickens’ vision.  I’ve also been to the theater recently to see the play, so I would definitely say this constitutes a full blown obsession on my part.  But I’m not worried. It will play itself out sooner or later.  Hopefully before the end of December, if not sooner.

The thing about obsessing over something…you tend to pick up things you might have missed with only a cursory glance.  I’m suddenly picking up things I didn’t fully comprehend before.  I’ve even pulled the book out to better grasp the meaning behind every word, and my takeaway is this…the world could learn a few things from Mr. Dickens and his wonderful Mr. Scrooge.

I say wonderful not because of Scrooge’s miserly ways, but rather because of how he eventually saw the light and realized the spirit of Christmas is bringing joy, love, and compassion to those who need it the very most. Friends and family should be cherished. And charity begins at home.  He discovered that it’s never too late to change for the better.  Never too late to start fresh.

Mr. Dickens had a wonderful idea.  And it’s been more than 250 years since he wrote that most beloved story. And the story has been told and retold for over 250 years without losing a drop of that message. It’s about time we tried to live by the message brought to us by those spirits…

And so in the immortal words of Scrooge, himself, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

Until the next time…I’ll be baking cookies with my kids!