“You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?”
“I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.” — Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
The whole of Ebenezer Scrooge’s life changed in span of one evening. Years, decades, of a man’s pursuit for financial stability and steadfast business growth turned him into a callous of a human being. His heart and soul became so entrenched in the balancing of nickels and dimes for profit that it iced over to a hardened glacier. He had little use for people and even less for their holidays. Yet, in the span of a few hours in a fever pitched dream, his phantom conscience wrapped in chains paid him a visit and he finally had a second chance at life in the last chapter of it.
We are, in some form or fashion, an Ebenezer. The sheer act of self-perseveration requires us do whatever it takes to survive. Even the poorest among us places deep reverence in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Subconsciously or not. They say that the best things in life are free, but you still need money to acquire the things it takes to live. Still, when we take that pursuit and let it consume us. When it goes far beyond self-preservation into the land of blind greed — that is when money becomes a root of evil. The golden calf was created by man, but the deity he created was a version of himself. We take portraits of dead politicians and put it on our currency. We allow the concept of monetary gain consume us — at times to the point where we let it control our relationships with others. We set aside people we care deeply about so we can amass wealth. And, in turn, we begin to lose sight on why we live in the first place.
Scrooge, in the end, had his second chance. It took a phantasmal wake up call, but he changed. On our ends, it often also takes an equally drastic event — may it be a car accident, a health scare, or the sudden loss of a loved one or friend, to wake us up and change our priorities. The thing of it is, we have always had the opportunity to switch gears. But without a climatic, possibly catastrophic circumstance, we allow our daily lives to blind us to these changes. Yet, it doesn’t have to be that way. All it takes is the force of will to alter the course of our lives. All is required is the same fortitude that you would put into, say, finding a new job or quitting a bad habit; you can use to start being benevolent to your fellow man. Turn the other cheek and forgive. Go out of your way to help a total stranger. In essence, un-Scrooge yourself.
I leave you with a quote: “Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.” — Joan Didion. If you were to face the spector of your former mentor, what would you have to say to them? What would they have to say to you? If you were to take the three roads of Christmas past, present, and future, would you be pleased by the journeys? Or wake up covered in sweat and ready to change your life for the better? Or, even worse, suffer the fate of Marley and pass before you even have the chance to.
The door to a better life is waiting fully open for you. I hope it doesn’t take a haunting for you to walk through it.
