The Grinch and Stuff
The Grinch hates Christmas, the whole Christmas season. We are not quite
sure of the reason. He hates the singing and noise, the happy Who girls and
Who boys. He wants it to stop! He hatched a plan and plotted a plot. He
made a Santa hat and even made a reindeer, so we come back to the story to
see what he’s got.
All the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care, when he came to
the first little house on the square. “This is stop number one,” the old Grinchy
Claus hissed. And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist. Then he slid
down the chimney. A rather tight pinch. But, if Santa could do it, then so
could the Grinch. He got stuck only once, for a moment or two. Then he
stuck his head out of the fireplace flue, where the little Who stockings all hung
in a row. “These stockings,” he grinned, “are the first things to go.” Then he
slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, around the whole room,
and he took every present! Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums!
Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums! And he stuffed them in bags.
Then the Grinch, very nimbly, stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the
chimbly! Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Who feast! He took the
Who-pudding! He took the roast beast! He cleaned out that icebox as quick
as a flash. Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash! Then he
stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee. “And NOW!” grinned the Grinch,
“I will stuff up the tree!”
And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove, When he heard a
small sound like the coo of a dove. He turned around fast, and he saw a
small Who! Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two. The Grinch
had been caught by this tiny Who daughter who’d got out of bed for a cup of
cold water. She stared at the Grinch and said, “Santy Claus, why, why are
you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?”
But you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick, He thought up a lie,
and he thought it up quick! “Why, my sweet little tot,” the fake Santy Claus
lied, “There’s a light on this tree that won’t light on one side. So I’m taking it
home to my workshop, my dear, I’ll fix it up there. Then I’ll bring it back
here.” And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head and he got her a
drink, and he sent her to bed. And when Cindy-Lou Who went to bed with her
cup, HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up! Then the last thing he
took, was the log for their fire! Then he went up the chimney, himself, the old
liar. On their walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire.
1
And the one speck of food that he left in the house was a crumb that was even
too small for a mouse. THEN he did the same thing to the other Whos’ houses.
Leaving crumbs much too small for the other Whos’ mouses!
It was quarter past dawn… All the Whos still a-bed
All the Whos still a-snooze When he packed up his sled, Packed it up with
their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings! The tags! And the tinsel! The
trimmings! The trappings! Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mt.
Crumpit, he rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it! “Pooh Pooh to the
Whos! He was Grinch-ish-ly humming. “They’re finding out now that no
Christmas is coming! They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two, then the Whos down in Who-vill
will all cry BOO-HOO!” “That’s a noise,” grinned the Grinch, “That I simply
MUST hear!”
Last week we discovered that the Grinch hated Christmas and that the
original problem appeared to be that his heart was two sizes too small. We
talked about letting go of our focus on what we dislike and allowing our heart
to expand as we relax. A life without hate and a mind not cluttered with
thoughts of hate creates a great deal more space for love. And love is our true
nature. In this portion of the story we learn that the Grinch believes
Christmas is really just about the STUFF. And if he can take all the tinsel and
ribbons, all the presents and bows, all the feasting and trimmings, he can stop
Christmas from coming. Although not with the intent of taking it all away, I’m
sure there are quite a few people who believe, like the Grinch, that Christmas
is about Stuff. Holiday sales begin before Halloween is over. Black Friday
sales have now crept into our one day of gratitude. The papers, the television,
the ads on the internet all tell us our holiday is incomplete without clothes
and perfume, electronics, toys and even a new car! As I pondered how we got
to this place I wondered if we went back to that original Christmas story, if the
wise men from the East got us off on the wrong foot bringing such expensive
gifts as gold and frankincense and myrrh. In Unity, we believe all stories are
metaphorical and there is always a deeper meaning. So what are the
metaphysics of the original “stuff” of the Christmas story? I went to the old
Metaphysical Bible Dictionary Charles Fillmore compiled.
First, the wise men came from the East, which represents “within”. The gifts
are about the qualities of consciousness already within us.
2
Gold is valued and precious and gold, Fillmore says, represents “a
consciousness of the omnipresent richness of infinite substance”. What??
Gold represents an awakening to the spiritual reality that all that we could
ever need is available to us. The ideal that “substance” is really just energy in
the Universe waiting for our thoughts to shape it into what we desire. There is
no limit to ideas and ways we can manifest our good. Frankincense
represents “the transmutation of material things to spiritual essences”. This
is the power of consciousness to change our outer world. The power of our
consciousness of Life and Love to heal our bodies and our relationships. It is
our power to return in thought to the spiritual essence we come from and lift
our physical experience to that higher level. Myrrh simply represents the
power of love. Fillmore says both, “we must anoint every part of the organism
with the love of God” and we must demonstrate “the fulfillment of the law of
love as love for God and for neighbor”. These gifts represent our highest
consciousness of prosperity, love and our power. The gifts represent our best
self, not something external we have to give or receive.
Which brought me to the tale of the little drummer boy. For those of you who
don’t really like the Bible as a sacred text, I can assure you the Little
Drummer Boy is not in the Bible. The song we are familiar with was written in
1941 adapted in 1957 after the Von Trapp singers recorded it in 1955. The
story is similar to a 12th century tale, “Le Jongleur de Notre Dame” or “Our
Lady’s Juggler”. Whether drumming or juggling, this giving is about giving the
best of ourselves. And that was my big “Aha” moment around Christmas
stuff. We have gotten off track in our giving. We do not focus on giving of
ourselves, rather we substitute giving stuff. We see it not just at Christmas.
How many long distance grandparents, non-custodial parents, busy
professional parents, remorseful spouses, try to gift their way into the hearts
of those they love? Due to time or distance or neglect, they feel they have not
given themselves so they substitute stuff. At Valentines, do we celebrate a year
of loving interaction or do we measure how the “gifts” of that day measure up?
We have language about our substitution; we call it a “token of our affection”.
Wouldn’t it be nice to actually have the love expressed, not in a thing or token
but in giving of ourselves? Which sort of brings us back to our last series on
vulnerability, connecting and feeling worthy. I believe we often rely upon gifts
of stuff because we feel that giving of ourselves is not enough. We are not
enough. It is risky to give of ourselves because what if the gift is rejected or
judged? So we give stuff rather than give of ourselves. They can exchange a
sweater. They could be disappointed in me.
3
We have no consciousness of our personal and spiritual power, the power of
our love, and the infinite good available to us, so we try to create that positive,
powerful image of ourselves with stuff.
For most of my childhood, my maternal grandparents were key figures in my
life. Until age 7 I lived with them off and on. My grandmother barely made it
past 5 foot and she was a tea-toddling school teacher. My grandfather was 6’2
and he was a smoking, drinking, gambling union carpenter with a sideline of
livestock trading. An odd couple, they both adored me. And I them. I seemed
to have a different relationship with each of them than other people did.
Neither one of them was really focused on material gifts. But as I reflect back,
they were both very generous in giving to me of themselves. My grandmother
taught me to read and write by the time I was 5. She taught me how to sew
and do embroidery work; gardening and a love of flowers. In her kitchen I
learned the joy of cooking and the power of sharing food. All of these things
are still a part of my passion. My grandfather believed in me in a very simple
and fundamental way that empowered my independence. I have a very vivid
memory of going to the little grocery store near my grandparent’s house. They
had one of those deep freezers where they kept the ice cream and popsicles.
My grandfather didn’t ask me what flavor I wanted and then give it to me. No,
he would pick me up and dangle me into the freezer until I could pick out
exactly what I wanted and get it myself. He taught me what all the tools were
he used and how to use them. He gave me many of the tools I have today out
of his own collection. He gave me a six foot aluminum ladder which he didn’t
need but I did! He taught me how to change the oil in my first car. He also
taught me math and how to play poker and 21. That was not my
grandmother’s idea!
My grandparents were not perfect people. I don’t think they really had great
self-esteem. I’m pretty sure they never read any books about vulnerability or
shame. Yet somehow they opened their hearts to me and gave me their best
selves. I have been so blessed!
So what are our beliefs about the stuff of Christmas? There are lots of folks
who complain about the commercialization of Christmas. Yet beyond
complaining, what do we do about how we celebrate Christmas? What do we
do about our belief that giving stuff is a substitute for giving of ourselves?
Before everyone in retail gets in an uproar and everyone who had some stuff
they were hoping to get for Christmas is mad that I suddenly made it seem not
holy, let us explore the ideas for change.
4
I don’t think the challenge is actually the stuff. I don’t think the solution is to
just get rid of the stuff. I believe, oh dear, we have to change our
consciousness! To “Grinch proof” our Christmas, we have to shift our focus
away from giving stuff to giving of our best selves to those around us. And
what about giving of ourselves on more than just one day a year or even just
one brief season a year? What if Christmas was not about stuff but a
celebration of the divinity we are and the love we have to share every day?
What if that was what we taught our children and our families? This is more
difficult. This is going against the race consciousness and the media blitz and
the expectations of our peers. Our children are being taught that the only
people who don’t give lots of presents are poor or stingy or unloved. We get
caught up in not wanting those around us to believe we are poor or not loving
so we give them stuff. What if we held for ourselves the consciousness of
infinite substance, personal power and pure, unconditional love? If that is our
consciousness, that is the consciousness we live from and what we will
model. What if we broke down our own expectations of stuff at Christmas
and made it a celebration of sharing sacred love? And what if we carried those
celebrations of love out into the year in times of Sabbath and community? If
we want to give a material gift, do we need a day on the calendar to give us
permission? If we need new clothes or we want a child to have a bike or a new
phone, do we have to tie our giving to a holiday? Can we look at giving
ourselves on a daily or weekly basis? How much time do we spend with our
family, our friends, and with people in our community? Are we truly present
with those we are with? Answer these questions to change your life.
I invite you into a Grinch-proof, daring greatly, wonder-filled holiday this
season. I invite you into a season of giving of your best self, knowing how
awesome you are and what gifts of love you have to share. See if you can find
ways to eliminate some of the stuff from your Christmas and give more of
yourself. Our affirmation this week is: I am enough and I have enough to
give freely of myself. Because I am a spiritual being, there is no lack in the
essence of who I am. Connected with that consciousness I know I have
enough time; I have enough talent; and I have enough love to give freely of
myself. See how it sounds when you say it outloud: I am enough and I have
enough to give freely of myself.
Please join us next Sunday as our Music Director and our choir give
generously of themselves in a holiday concert full of the Christmas spirit.
Then on December 20th we’ll see how our Grinch story ends.
5