Dear Santa, ... Week 1

Dear Santa,

All I really want for Christmas this year is for people to talk to each other. I want them to put down their iPhones, and iPads, and tablets, and "I-everything" and talk to each other. I want them to look into each other's eyes and open their hearts as well as their ears. I want them to start listening to what the other person is saying instead of jumping ahead and worrying about what they are going to say next in response. I want them to acknowledge the other person: "I see you, I hear you, you matter."

I want parents to put down their electronics and their to-do lists and listen to their children. I want them to hear what their kids are really saying to them from their hearts even if they can't communicate it in words. I want parents to be parents and make time for their children ... like, no electronics at the table, and talking to them about their day which is just as important to them as yours is to you.

I want kids to listen, too. I want them to hear the cries of another child being bullied, and to hear their own voices raised in their defense. I want kids to hear birds chirping instead of strangers rapping. I want them to hear Christmas carols and jingle bells instead of the sounds of destruction from video games. I want them to hear the world as God created it, not as man has demeaned it.

Most of all, I want the leaders of the world to sit down and actually talk to each other, not just through their representatives. I also want leaders to listen to their own people. I want them to hear the cries of hungry children, the sorrow of parents who can't find jobs, the anguish of people treated as non-beings because they are considered "different."

I just want us all to talk to each other. I do believe we will find that we all want the same things: love, peace, safety, a roof over our heads, food on the table, and a job to support us. Dignity. Respect. The pieces are all there, Santa. All we have to do is put them together like a brand new set of Legos. Maybe your elves can help. That's really all I want for Christmas this year, Santa. I just want us to talk to each other.

And so it is.

Thank you.
Love,
Barb aka Flower Bear