I just had a very interesting conversation with my ten year old triggered by yesterday's Radio 4's Today programme advising listeners that Father Christmas is just an invention. Having sort of managed to talk my way out of it, and ending up in a potted philosophical life history in the process, I write this in the hope that it might help others in the same position.
I began my response by changing the subject, something learned from Dave and his friends, to buy time to think or, if I get really lucky, to avoid the issue altogether. I changed the subject to ghosts, asking a question in response to the original question (another tactic our political friends mastered long ago): "do you believe in ghosts?". There is some complicated family history around this, but suffice to say that he thinks he does because of an event when he was an infant, which we were all part of. "What about God?" was my next question, and his response was telling, "I think so, and I definitely believe in Jesus". The discussion evolved to establish that the belief in Jesus did not extend to the entire contents of the Bible and an understanding that the book had evolved over time. He then added that Christmas Day is Jesus' birthday.
This was an excellent starting point for my wriggling. Ghosts I said could be all in our mind, we nearly all see 'things' from time to time but some dismiss them as normal things with a rational explanation, others ignore them hoping they will go away and some embrace them. The point is the more you embrace it the more you see whatever it is as real, and, perhaps, the more likely you are to see it again. The same is true of the Bible.
The ten year old then countered with the tale of the Italian priests who have seen tears on religious statues or even apparitions of holy beings. He asked if it was more likely that priests would see that type of thing, and I had to say that I don't know. I can see it is logical however that if you believe in something when you see, or receive, an unexplained phenomenon it is easier to believe and maybe more reassuring if you can relate it to your belief.
So what about Father Christmas I was asked again. "I believe in Father Christmas", I was able to reply, truthfully. "But it is you that fills my stocking, not him?" came the challenge, and I had to agree. But this does not mean that Father Christmas, or ghosts, or God do not exist, I said. I have seen what I think is a ghost and I know that my son has heard one because he used language and names he could not have got elsewhere at that age, when he was barely talking.
The fact that I have never seen God or Father Christmas in the 'flesh' does not stop me believing in them, and helping them whenever I can. When I fill a Christmas stocking it reinforces someone's belief in Father Christmas. When I do someone a good turn, especially if they are a stranger and are unaware it was me, it reinforces their belief in whatever it is they believe in, in the way of a benevolent or guarding spirit. Whether that is God, Allah or Father Christmas is not important, what is important is that they will believe it more. They do not have to believe that some ghostly figure or mysterious manifestation was behind what happened, they just have to know that something did happen and that it happened to them, perhaps in a time of need. And they have to commit as part of their belief to helping people and in that way reinforcing the beliefs of others.
The fact that I have never seen God or Father Christmas in the 'flesh' does not stop me believing in them, and helping them whenever I can. When I fill a Christmas stocking it reinforces someone's belief in Father Christmas. When I do someone a good turn, especially if they are a stranger and are unaware it was me, it reinforces their belief in whatever it is they believe in, in the way of a benevolent or guarding spirit. Whether that is God, Allah or Father Christmas is not important, what is important is that they will believe it more. They do not have to believe that some ghostly figure or mysterious manifestation was behind what happened, they just have to know that something did happen and that it happened to them, perhaps in a time of need. And they have to commit as part of their belief to helping people and in that way reinforcing the beliefs of others.
It is therefore what you believe and what you do with it that is important, and I was able to give this example. Nearly 30 years ago I was close to death aged 18 with a dual bout of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease, topical today due to the struggle of footballer Darren Fletcher against the illness. At that point (oddly for someone not especially religious in the accepted sense before or since) I felt very close to God and actually refused a potentially life-saving colostomy in favour of whatever God chose for me. The truth is that I was more frightened of the 'bag for life' than of meeting my maker. And yet I am still here.
Back then, after several months of serious illness I was discharged from hospital, weighing around 5 and a half stone (I am now 15) just before Christmas 1983. I had vowed that I would be out of hospital for Christmas and I was. At times I think the nurses thought I was completely mad. I was incredibly lucky, the illness was brought under control by intravenous doses of then new drugs at a level far higher than they were eventually licensed for. This ruined my eyesight and a few other things (and I later had an aids scare as some of the blood used in transfusion was found to be infected) but it jointly saved my life, along with the power of my belief that I was doing the right thing. Incidentally, through a total exclusion diet and a further helping of luck I later traced the cause of the illness to an allergy set, mainly to caffeine and coffee, and have been well and drug free for over 20 years, which may give hope to some current sufferers that it is not always an entirely random illness.
One irony in all of this is that I was advised by my consultant to avoid dairy products so for years afterwards I was controlling the illness with drugs with nasty side effects and drinking black tea and coffee, merrily making myself worse. All the while convinced by medical science that I was doing the right thing. It can be argued therefore that I had more success following what for some would be an irrational belief than I did when following the accepted scientific 'fact' of the day.
Back then, after several months of serious illness I was discharged from hospital, weighing around 5 and a half stone (I am now 15) just before Christmas 1983. I had vowed that I would be out of hospital for Christmas and I was. At times I think the nurses thought I was completely mad. I was incredibly lucky, the illness was brought under control by intravenous doses of then new drugs at a level far higher than they were eventually licensed for. This ruined my eyesight and a few other things (and I later had an aids scare as some of the blood used in transfusion was found to be infected) but it jointly saved my life, along with the power of my belief that I was doing the right thing. Incidentally, through a total exclusion diet and a further helping of luck I later traced the cause of the illness to an allergy set, mainly to caffeine and coffee, and have been well and drug free for over 20 years, which may give hope to some current sufferers that it is not always an entirely random illness.
One irony in all of this is that I was advised by my consultant to avoid dairy products so for years afterwards I was controlling the illness with drugs with nasty side effects and drinking black tea and coffee, merrily making myself worse. All the while convinced by medical science that I was doing the right thing. It can be argued therefore that I had more success following what for some would be an irrational belief than I did when following the accepted scientific 'fact' of the day.
So, what do I believe in? Everything that I can see is good and that I cannot prove does not exist. The more I help God and Father Christmas the more other people can believe in them too, and hopefully find comfort in them in times of need and at certain times of the year when families come together to remember Jesus. For that is what Christmas is. It celebrates the birth of Christ and Father Christmas has become an essential part of that. No-one will ever convince me that these things are not real, even if they do not always manage to do what we hope they will on their own. Just because they might not have an existence were it not for us, does not make them imaginary.
So how does that relate to social enterprise?
Totally and completely - it is the embodiment of it. Social enterprise will only prosper and solve our problems if we believe in it. It is why have spent my recent working life in the sector and why I have just written a book with the explicit aim of persuading our government to give social enterprise more of a chance and a central place in our lives. Social enterprise is not charity or random good deeds, it is a force which can aggregate the goodwill and positive beliefs of all of us. It can be bigger and more visible than Father Christmas and it has the power to do huge amounts of good. This can be through community projects or investment, through individual support and deeds or by changing the commercial landscape through the creation of more socially responsible corporations. It has endless potential. Even if you don't believe in Father Christmas, you must believe in social enterprise. Shop with one this Christmas and do good for someone you have never met while treating your family and friends.
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