Believing Is Seeing

“When you're young, you don't know what you don't know, so it's easier to get into that magical thing.”… Remember how magical the Holiday season was as a child and how our imaginations took hold of the rope of life to create moments when anything was possible? Why is it that when we ‘grow up’, we stop ‘believing’ that something greater than us can make our dreams come true?


As a kid growing up, I remember how incredibly magical each day was. The school year lasted decades upon decades, and summer vacation somehow seemed to last forever as well. Time had no meaning, and things like the Holidays were a really big deal. All year long, in the back of my mind was the fact that Santa was always watching and that I ought to behave myself. Of course, being a kid, I didn’t always follow this philosophy to the best of my ability, but when I messed up, I immediately felt reprimanded in that I knew Santa would NEVER approve. Originally from Erie, PA, the Holiday Season began as soon as it started to snow, and by Christmas, there was always enough snow to go around and enough to make you despise the stuff. All else aside, it was also absolutely magical as it meant that a whole wide YEAR of waiting was going to pay off for that one day of the impossible made possible.


Getting ready to leave to go to my Grandparents house overnight on Christmas Eve, we would meticulously set out cookies and milk and wouldn’t even take into consideration that Santa might possibly be really, really full and bloated from eating the other millions and trajillions of cookies laid out for him. Or even that he may be lactose intolerant, as a good percentage of the world today has some sort of intolerance to dairy. Nope! None of this mattered. Why? Because as children we don’t think about those technicalities. All that was ever taken into consideration was the small world we knew and lived in and there were no second thoughts or oppositions to behold. The magic of the season arose not only in the array of gifts under the tree, but also in the belief that something bigger than the stretch of the imagination existed and we didn’t have to see it to believe it. We just KNEW. And sure enough, every year at Christmas, the excitement and anticipation would build up to mass exhilaration and our world as we knew it was encompassed and embellished by the ‘impossible’.


I remember coming home Christmas Day each year and stepping foot into my house. I would always get goosebumps and a blood pressure spike on the never-ending walk to the living room. Although I knew (I just knew!) that the gifts were going to be placed beautifully and artfully under the tree, it was the climax of an entire year of built-up belief and pure imagination that sent me into a full-on frenzy. With my brother and sisters in toe, we would all creep over to the living room and slowly look around the corner to see what we had been waiting for all YEAR! It was so exciting, in fact, that none of us would actually be the first ones to walk into the living room. It was as if the magic made a secret aura around the room, and we needed permission to walk into it. The pure intensity of such a stimulating moment always made my mouth ache at the sides from smiling so big, but I didn’t care, and even if I did… I still couldn’t stop smiling. And, wait! The cookies! Did he eat them? Being the little, caring girl I was, I just knew that he would be super hungry after traveling in that snow. The long drives in the snow made ME hungry, so, naturally, I just knew that Santa would be just famished after his own travels. Plus, he was a pretty big guy, and he just LOOKED hungry. Each year, I was always so happy to see that Santa did, indeed, like the cookies and I assumed that he must have snacked while bringing in the presents through the front door. We didn’t have a chimney, so he (again, naturally!) had to use the door like everyone else. Christmas Day was almost too much to handle sometimes and the magic would last for weeks on end after each year’s celebration. Once those few weeks were over, absorbed and fully cherished, it was time to start gearing up for next year. The ‘impossible’ was real and my belief in something I didn't have to see drove me to see each element of my life in a new light. I didn't have to see Santa to 'know' that he was real, nor did I care to see him. The belief I instilled into his being was enough to influence me for the rest of those years and to consider my actions (...or at least consider them AFTER I had committed the crime), and to take my future into an account without question. In essence, a child's belief is actually quite wise to an extent as it creates a foundation for dreams. It creates wonderment and the curiosity to explore things beyond anything they can hold, touch or prove in a tangible sense. A child doesn't need to know something exists by simply seeing it. They 'see' things by believing in them and the rest creates itself. Imagine if we all were able to take even a little bit of this amusement and wonderment without question with us into 'adult'hood. What would your world consist of?


Think about this… If money, other people, and time weren’t objective, what would you aspire to do? What would change about the beliefs you have right now and your perception of life? Take a moment, close your eyes and just envision something you have always viewed as ‘impossible’. Imagine what it would feel like to you if you were to aspire to meet this unimaginable endeavor.

1. How would your life change or be different?
2. What would improve or worsen?
3. What would you have to sacrifice to get there?
4. What is the worst thing that could happen on your journey and what steps could you take to prevent this from happening?
5. How would your feelings about yourself and/or your life change?
6. What is holding you back?


Really take in your answers. This is just a taste of what you could have if you believed it was really a possibility and if you are willing to commit to admit to these answers. When you are timid to believe in not ‘seeing’ the end result with your eyes, sometimes having it written in front of you serves as that tangible evidence needed to ease the mind and heart. Not everything in life is as it seems and we often precipitate things to be UNbelievable when, in fact, our only culprit is most often ourselves. By knowing the risks involved in accomplishing anything, we tend to sit back and instill our belief into Life making things happen for us. Life can open up the door for us, but WE are the only ones who can walk through it. If you don’t open your eyes to believing the door is in front of you, you will sit and wait for something to happen that never will. What we fail to realize is that it’s not what we ‘see’ with our own eyes that holds our aspirations. Rather, it’s our dreams and our belief in our dreams that propels us to actually accomplish them. Live for your dreams without second-guessing the consequences. Your heart and subconscious already know the answers. Believe in yourself and believe that you deserve to be happy in your life. Keep your goals close to your heart and incorporate the things you do daily to support your ambitions. Why should the Holidays only come once a year?


Return to a day when you were a child at Christmas or another special time, and just encompass and feel the magic of the moment. Believe in yourself and let your mind wander to explore the things you never thought possible. Let yourself be inspired by the thought and feeling and allow your actions to follow close behind. Maybe believing in Santa isn’t so unbelievable after all…


Until next time, Faithful Reader…



“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”
-Anatole France


"Don't let go of your dreams. If you have determination and belief in your dreams, you will succeed in spite of your desire to let go."
-Catherine Pulsifer


“Some things have to be believed to be seen.”
-Ralph Hodgson