- Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
I've heard those words, or some slight variation of them, at least seven times this Christmas season.
Yes, I admit it: I'm a "Christmas Carol" junkie. My husband and I own an embarrassing number of versions of it on DVD, and every year, we try to fit in as many as we can. We love comparing the merits of each version, debating which is the best retelling of the story, who makes the best Scrooge, which actor is the best Marley, etc.
There's a reason the story is so addictive and so re-watchable. As many times as I've seen it, I always come away a bit inspired, vowing to apply more of the lessons it teaches to my own life.
"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come
round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time; a
kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in
the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to
open their shut-up hearts freely...."
- Scrooge's nephew Fred
It's a stirring message. It's also a tough one to live up to, once you get up off the couch and get back to the pressures of the holiday season, or of everyday living. Tough -- but then, that's the case with most things that are worth doing.
This year, I've decided it's at the top of my list of New Year's resolutions.
This year, I've decided it's at the top of my list of New Year's resolutions.
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