Like A Happy Man Going Home

The Present

I once took a course in meteorology with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in plain terms, the national weather bureau. Our class plotted the paths of hurricanes, took readings with sophisticated instruments, and built models of pressure systems. After six months of study, the class came to one conclusion: It is almost impossible to accurately predict the weather. If you want to know the weather, your best bet is to take a look out the window.

People love predictions. We want to know the future. We also enjoy reliving the past. Historical and personal events are revisited endlessly. Some are so busy with the past and future that they have lost sight of the present. Ebenezer Scrooge was just such a man.

In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts – Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet-To-Come. Scrooge revisits his past and is given a vision of his possible future, but Scrooge seems to be missing from the Present. 

The spirit of Christmas Present takes Scrooge into his own town. He visits Bob Cratchit’s house and his nephew’s Fred where there is talk of him – none very pleasant -- but he does not visit his own home or business. His present is absent.

Scrooge’s life has gone dormant. He enjoys nothing; he helps no one. He hoards his gold, relishing future profits from the excessive interest on the money he lends. With the Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge sees the poorest of men celebrating the day. Miners gather around a cheerful fire singing old carols. Sailors riding out a gale share holiday stories over a cup of grog (every man on board having a kinder word for another on that day). In every almshouse, hospital, and jail, people rejoice --everyone but Ebenezer Scrooge.

Scrooge’s present lays dormant –waiting to be awakened by the joy of today. When he awakens after the Ghosts’ visits, he is amazed that it is still Christmas Day. He laughs, he cries, he whoops, he sings. He opens his heart to the joys of the present. He no longer fears the future because he knows that his todays will make it pleasurable and full. 

Scrooge begins that very moment to live large. He sends the biggest turkey to the Cratchits. He gives a grand donation to the poor. He dresses in his very best. He patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down in to the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and he found that everything could yield him pleasure. Now, in his very present present, he finds great joy. 

One of the best stories about Charles Dickens revolves around a stage production of A Christmas Carol. Every night on stage, the Cratchits enjoyed a real cooked goose. One of the actors noticed that the girl playing Tiny Tim took huge portions but remained pale and thin. He found out that the child saved her portion and passed it along to a sister waiting offstage so that her whole family could benefit. The actor reported this thievery to Mr. Dickens. Dickens smiled a little sadly and told him, “Ah, you ought to have given her the whole goose.” 

Dickens lived large and in the present. His friend, Thomas Carlyle, remembered him as “the good, the gentle, the high-spirited, ever-friendly, noble Dickens.” He was beloved by many. He died prematurely, having exhausted himself with traveling and readings from his books. His loss was felt most by those he hoped to help most -- children and the poor. A laborer in Birmingham said it best: "Charles Dickens is dead. We have lost our best friend.”

Why did Dickens name this story a “carol”? Because, as G.K. Chesterton wrote, “The story sings from end to end, like a happy man going home.” Today, take a look out the window. Enjoy the weather you have. Live in the now. Live large. Sing like a happy man going home.