Of course you know what happens on the night before Christmas, when Santa Claus travels all around the world in a sleigh, sliding down chimneys, and leaving lots of presents.  But did you know that on the night after Christmas, Santa’s twin brother makes a similar, but very different trip?  That’s right, Santa Claus has a slightly-younger, twin brother named Santa Pause.  You’ve probably never heard of him; most folks haven’t.  Although Claus was born just one minute earlier, he’s always been larger, louder and more visible than his twin. Tall and thin, Santa Pause avoids wearing the Santa family’s traditional red and white furry outfits, mostly because colorful, tropical shirts and baggy shorts are much more comfortable to wear in sunny Hawaii, where he lives, far away from the icy North Pole.
 
Being a quiet, easy-going guy by nature, Pause doesn’t mind that his brother Claus receives all the fame and glory.  Because for most of the year, while Claus stays busy inside his Arctic workshop making long lists and checking them twice, Pause is chilling out under a palm tree, soaking up some rays, playing guitar, reading and spending long hours in prayer and meditation.
 
Yes, Santa Pause lives a blissful life in Hawaii, and he could easily stay there all the time, except that he shares a strong family trait with his brother, Claus:  they both enjoy giving.  They just do so in very different ways. And that’s why, every year, just as Christmas Day is drawing to a close, Santa Pause sits down on a meditation cushion under his favorite palm tree, opens his arms wide to embrace the light of the sun setting over the ocean, smiles a big smile and begins chanting quietly to himself:  “Om Santa, Om Santa, Om Santa…”
 
Soon, the lilting syllables lift him up, up and far, far away… to here and there and everywhere… traveling through the Santa Dimension to arrive in each home where someone has invited him.  He magically alights in the most comfortable seat in each place he visits.  It might be on an easy chair, right next to the warmth of a fireplace.  Or it could be a spot in the bedroom, or a hammock hung on the back porch.   But wherever he lands, he lives up to his name by taking a good long pause, breathing deeply and feeling just as peaceful as possible.  Then he silently showers blessings on all who are asleep in this home.  When he’s done, he opens his arms out wide, smiles a big smile, takes one long, last deep exhale - and just disappears back into the Santa Dimension.  How does he do it?  No one really knows, because no one has ever seen him do this, and yet many, many people have experienced the sweet peace that settles into every house and every heart he’s ever visited.
 
Would you like to experience that for yourself?  Then consider doing the following sometime on Christmas Day.  Take a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle of cooking, eating, wrapping and unwrapping presents to go sit quietly by yourself.  It might be before dinner, or afterwards.  The house might be totally quiet, or full of other folks who are making lots of noise.  It doesn’t matter. Just go off and sit alone in your favorite spot.  You do have one, don’t you?  Someplace where you like to sit and read, or pray, or just stay for awhile to relax?  If not, you might want to consider creating such a spot in your house.  It could be on an overstuffed sofa, or a firm, straight-backed chair.  It could be somewhere in your yard, or on a straw mat, a flat rock or a soft cushion.  It really doesn’t matter.  It just needs to be a place where YOU like to sit peacefully from time to time. 
 
Now take a few quiet breaths and quietly invite Santa Pause to come visit your home that night after all the Christmas food and fun and festivities are done.  That’s all.  Nothing fancy.  Just a few minutes of sending your quiet invitation is enough. Then, whenever you’re ready, just get up and go on to enjoy whatever you do and whomever you’re with for the rest of Christmas Day.
 
Then, whenever you get up and get dressed, go to where you think he sat, and you’ll experience the gift Santa Pause left behind as you sit silently… and breathe… and feel… the deep peace that comes from taking such a special pause during the Holidays - and every day. 
 
With love and blessings,

We haven’t had a hard freeze in South Texas for several years, so it’s a rare treat to see the seamless blanket of icy, white frost covering everything in sight outside our bedroom window.  It’s Saturday morning, and though I’m sorely tempted to stay right where I am in this snug, warm bed, I jump up instead, eager to explore this winter wonderland.  Trundling carefully across the slippery walkways and through the crunchy, frozen grass, I stare in amazement at all the glistening ice crystals and icicles clinging to the various rocks, plants and trees in our yard.
 
A short while later, the glowing sun pops up over the horizon, and a strange, slow motion ballet begins:  one by one, leaves start falling from the many pecan and hackberry trees surrounding our house.  At first there are just a few, dropping at random intervals, but their numbers grow rapidly as the sun shines brighter and warmer.  There’s no breeze at all, so the leaves are falling straight down, like a bizarre blizzard of oversized, brown and yellow snowflakes.  It is mesmerizing to watch these trees being stripped naked of all their foliage so quickly, quietly, and thoroughly without any visible cause.  My brain fumbles with a jumble of half-forgotten facts learned in biology class long ago, trying to make sense of this surreal imagery from a logical perspective.  All I know is that these leaves are obeying the ancient Law of Letting Go, as the trees shift most of their creative energy from their showy, outer surfaces to their hidden depths; from the branches down into the roots, which will spend the winter digging deep and wide, in order to provide an increased capacity for budding leaves and fruit when spring comes around again.
 
Meanwhile, I would swear that the last few of these falling leaves are whispering something directly into the ears of my soul, in a language that it somehow knows instinctively: “Let go of the old.  However cold and hard it may seem, now is the time to pursue your dreams by doing things that may not be visible on the surface.   A time for going deeper, for getting in touch with your roots, for growing past outmoded boundaries and ways of being.”
 
Freeing the zipper on my jacket, I loosen my shawl, turn my face toward the warmth of the sun and say a silent prayer of thanks.  One thing is clear:  this is a powerful time of year.
 
With hopes of seeing you Around the Circle and celebrating this season together,

Rudolf