Dear Santa,
It’ s been a while since I last wrote you a letter to North Pole. In fact, I’m not even sure if it ever arrived. I remember reading this Finnish letter with your address on it in Lapland. After my mother so brilliantly deceived me with information that you actually live there and I had to do the whole post office and stamps thing I was bit confused. North Pole is not the same as Lapland…is it? I am fairly certain that Estonian kids have a different Santa in Rovaniemi and American ones have You in North Pole. Now, how does that exactly work? I have always wondered which one of you is the real one or if this is some weird and little twisted pension scheme type of scam of yours you are running here. Anyhow…enough of this! There was actually something I wanted to discuss with you.
I do feel bad you know. Ashamed really. Banging on about how I don’ t think you are real or involved in some illegal scam stuff. Where are my manners – how have you been, you old chap? I hope everything is good with you and whatever you might think right now, please don’t feel left out and think I’ve been in touch with God recently. Oh nono! Don’ t think I will speak to him for quite a bit. I have another one to pick with that one. I have my doubts about his actions as well. So, nothing personal….it’ s just me being lazy with keeping in touch.
I’ ve been good though.
Honestly!
Gone back to school, no trashy behaviour….You’ d be proud. Promise.
Listen, I have been thinking about something and came to conclusion that you might be the man I need to turn to. You must be powerful, I reckon. Magical sleigh in the sky running on pure reindeer fuel, the whole swooping down the chimney with buttocks like yours, without getting stuck. Can you work miracles? Don’ t be shy….I bet you can, you just don’ t want the workload that God has. If so, I would have this major favor to ask. You can call it an early Christmas present if you wish.
Do you know what ever happened to little things? The little joys and moments, tiny little sweet gifts and gestures people used to do?
To be honest, it’ s starting to get a bit ridiculous by now. I don’ t really see how we can exists without those little things. More so – where have they gone!!!! In order to feel a brief of fresh and salty air, I have to now pay to see the sea and pay to be by the sea without some massive buildings blocking my view.
Yep, I think I might hate urbanisation. The crowds and the masses and even more so – the depressed faces of this mass urbanisation.
What did little things ever do to people, so we “got rid” of them?
Like finding a stone in the sand? Where are these stones? And the sand? And the lovely smiles of friendly people?
When I was just a kid, I was taught that best things in life come for free and I believed it. I still do. Only now, they seem to be dying out. Extinction. Not directly, but very slowly, bit by bit, we are becoming more comfortable and blinded by success. But all the little memories and fracture of moments or smiles we catch have been somewhere unknown. And quietness. I remember this was something that happened when you needed to go to sleep. You would lye there, in the dark, listening to crickets playing their awful little violins in the grass. And now… we pay to be secluded. We spend tons of money to be in the middle of the jungle. Without electricity, in silence.
I have an island I love. In the middle of nowhere. It’ s not mine, but I carry it in my heart, so it can hug me from inside. There is a house on the island. A little rowing boat, some sheep running around, and a sauna house. That’ s it! This is all there is to it. But it has the magic. The wonderful secluded isolation and quietness. It has the price of nearly nothing, but a value of everything. And I miss it. I really do.
If you think about it – 2011 and 2012 are massive years for UK. So many historical things happening: The Royal Wedding, Queen’ s jubilee, Olympics… and all I can think of is how to work out a plant to flee the town during those events. How can I possibly live my life in a way so I wouldn’ t actually need be in the country?
It’ s funny how we think of great things that happened in the past and try to imagine how it would have felt like to be part of all this. To live at those times without realising that we are all doing it every single day. If you start to think of what all has happened over the past 10 years, you will realize this is something that would be written about in history books. And you witnessed this. You were there. Alive.
Many people have asked me – so isn’ t it wonderful to live in London during those exciting times? You know what….not really. But this is the thing I was trying to say earlier – urbanisation. All we want is peace and quiet. The sound of silence.
Someone once told me about this idea how to sell silence and it was perfect. Silence is the one thing we crave for that we don’ t get these modern days. The music of silence. Complete serenity. So please, Santa, make the little things come back to people. Can you make us one big early Christmas present and make more people realize that little things and quietness both are golden? I really wish there would be something you could do to shake the modern man and bring one back to the ground. Life is not about success, fancy cars, spa treatments, botox and antidepressants. It’ s about the little things!
Today, for example, I found a little smile on a tiny post it note that my housemate had left me on my lunch box before leaving the house.
So…my wish for this early Christmas would be: more little things.
Thank you for the chat. You are a good listener.
Warm wishes,
Helen
PS! So…anyway….where do you actually live then?
