You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out

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The day after Thanksgiving, begins the marathon of which Christmas movies play continually throughout my home. There’s something about them that helps to usher us into the Christmas mindset.  Some of my all time favorites; Home Alone (1-5), Elf with Will Ferrell as Buddy, The Grinch (all versions) and oh yeah, The Christmas story.  It seems we cannot get enough of The Christmas Story loop that begins on Christmas Eve and runs all through out Christmas day.

If you’re familiar with the story line that takes place during the 1940s, Ralphie attempts to convince everyone that matters to him (his mother, his teacher, Santa) that a Red Ryder BB gun is really the perfect Christmas gift for him. Over and over again, we hear Ralphie make his case for getting the BB gun and over and over again he is told that the BB gun is too dangerous and that “You’ll shoot your eye out.”

Come Christmas morning, low and behold his father grants his wish. It wasn’t long before  his mother’s words of fear came to roost. Some would say “speak it enough and it will soon happen“. Although Ralphie’s eye did not technically fall out, he actually ended up breaking his glasses and lying to his mother as to how it happened. Poor Ralphie, for a moment believed he had actually shot his eye out.

The view that Ralphie held was no match for the triple threat of the fear held by the adults that surrounded him. Sometimes our children do not stand a chance living in a world where their desire to live free is overcome by the limitations of adults dragging around a trunk filled with fears and failures……..

Year after year, as I watch Ralphie hold tight to his dream of owning a Red Ryder range-model BB gun, the following thoughts came to mind;

• Don’t ever stop believing (like a child).

• Be careful not to project your fears & failures onto others.

• Fear is said to be “false evidence appearing real”. Get the facts first……

Do those three things and it just may be the very beginning of limitless living. From our Family to yours this holiday season, we wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa…….