I'm almost an adult and I am not ashamed to admit I believe in spirits. I have not seen one with my eyes, but I definitely have felt their presence and have relied upon them for strength and assistance. For instance, I sold a car on Craigslist, but could not find the title to it in the regular place I keep all my vehicle titles. I searched this house from end to end and the new owner was coming in a couple hours to pick it up, so I figured I'd have to apply for a lost title at the DMV. This was a couple of months after my Dad had passed away, so in desperation I sat in the floor surrounded by boxes of documents and asked Dad to help me find it and how much I missed him, his advice, and help. I reached for a bundle of envelopes and the title was there. I had overlooked it, or was too stressed to see it, and the transaction was completed that afternoon.
Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by three ghosts determined to show him the error of his ways. Now, I can't fault the man for making good business sense. After all, if the orphanage does not pay on time and gets behind a few months, it does not make good business sense to let them have a free ride. No large corporation ever became successful by giving goods away without a catch. Try skipping a few house payments and see how benevolent your bank will be.
Mr. Scrooge probably took it to the extreme by despising human rights and joyful mirth around the Christmas season, and being downright spiteful to charities and the plight of the hungry and poor townspeople that had nothing to give and everything to lose.
So he is visited by three ghosts as foretold by his deceased former partner Mr. Marley in a visit in his bed chamber after having digestive problems after dinner. The goal of Marley's visit was to show Scrooge the results of his lifestyle and what to expect after death.
Over the next three hours, the spirits visit Scrooge and show him visions of past, present, and future Christmases with less than joyful images.
Now, today, the board of ghosts would set him down and have an intervention, with each displaying their Power Point presentations so the whole thing can be wrapped up in a 30 minute meeting, instead of dragging it on for hours. A hacker might even get into the Scrooge and Marley accounts, and slander him across the internet and redistribute his wealth like a modern day Robin Hood. All Earthly possessions can vanish in an instant, so it truly does not profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul.
Your soul is your most precious gift, and like a dollar bill locked away for a rainy day, it has no real value until it is shared.
The story Charles Dickens wrote could be fiction, or based on actual events. Either way the story is timeless and has been told in movies in many ways. I, of course, like the Muppet's Christmas Carole version best, but every version is good and still relevant to the true meaning of the season. It's better to give, than receive. Certainly we have blurred the lines of the holiday season by packing several holidays in a one month span, but our goal is to honor each one and not get bogged down by the commercial aspect of the season. Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays do not offend me since they are blanket phrases that cover everything. It is however, a Christmas Tree. An Evergreen symbolizing eternal life with a "thousand points of light" for each blessing we have received. Beginning in November, we are thankful for the bounty of blessings, then the miracle of Chanukah, the birth of salvation, the heritage of Kwanzaa and a fresh new year of prosperity and peace. Selfishness is not part of any of these celebrations and greed is actually frowned upon during the entire season. Tolerance, love and peace are part of each holiday and should be carried out year round.
Mr. Scrooge did indeed have a change of heart. I am pretty sure his business grew by leaps and bounds when people found out about his generosity and new found respect for his employees and his customers. He did not need a Black Friday Mortgage Sale spectacular to drum up business, he earned it by compassion, fairness, and going the extra mile to help mankind, not just his bottom line, everyday of the year.
Maybe we should all send Duke Power, Comcast, Verizon and Time-Warner a copy of "A Christmas Carol" to see if they can read and apply those lessons to modern day business.
