FOR GIVING

Giving, sharing, donating, volunteering, cooking… — these are all gestures of benevolence for someone. The fictional Sal Paradise (if you remember from my old post titled Soul Food)  came to town and brought with him “gifts” under my Christmas tree. (The material present even if it’s just one, is infused with layers of thoughtfulness only from a “Santa” intimately familiar with who you are, and how food is your comforting element; and to suggest perfectly the ambience for a recipe I could do with his gift in, say, a dreary and cold rainy day like today, to make buttery grilled cheese sandwich on the panini maker gift! with a sweet card writing that I make a nice hot cup of chocolate drink with it for full experience of coziness — goes a long, long way to the cook at heart.) There’s probably a very generous reason why his name is Paradise. 

I will be watching Love Actually and couch out this awful rainy Sunday with hot cocoa pressed between my hands, laptop on. It’s a holiday must-see movie tradition that’s dear to me, it’s very romantic and forgiving, even if on Christmastime “you tell the truth.” One scene that’s a high point in the film is a caroler secretly in disguise addressing his longtime crush, who happens to be his best friend’s wife, by showing placards with notes of his feelings for her finally revealed on this “Holy Night.” He knew it won’t amount to anything but did the impossible “giving” anyway, and gave his full heart to her, revealing his feelings, for nothing in return. He walked away from the house onto the street carrying the boom box still playing the carols under one arm and under the other the big handwritten notes that told all, and to his surprise she followed him on the street running and he turned around — and got a deep kiss of thanks from his secret love. 

Joni Mitchell’s song From Both Sides Now was on the record player when the impeccable Emma Thompson, one of the main English actors in the film, emoted the pain she felt learning of her husband’s extramarital affair at work on Christmas Eve, and worse on their children’s Nativity play at the elementary school they were, as family, to attend, showed her resiliency instead to overcome the betrayal. Wiping her tears away and not showing her family, gathered everyone to the car so they won’t be late for the show, and the kids were excited to evidently, and then she looked at her husband in the eye to mean without words, I know. But not without out love.

Santa knew I love this film, its message of unconditional giving, of sacrifice for truth and for togetherness. Santa knew I would need nourishment by way of feeding my heart all worked up during the unfolding of story in this film of ordinary people experiencing extraordinary acts of giving and forgiving. And he’s always right.