When we decided to experiment with Santa Workshop Diwali, we intended to let the LIGHT we were celebrating guide us! We knew, that this wasn’t any ordinary intent, we understood that it wouldn’t be easy… yet we said… “let’s spread light” and YES, we were surprised… joyfully… at how much we got to learn from this one experiment… we set a new trend, a little silently… as people celebrated the festival of lights all around the city and gifts were exchanging hearts and hands at the frequency of light…
At the centre we were wrapping up “tokens of light”, smiling away, singing… knowing it was all going to be very special, this year… there was going to be a new beginning for all of us. We knew, that in the melee of celebrations, there are still some who GIVE with so much joy… we knew that there were some truly special people, who’d love to GIVE, especially during Diwali… So, I picked up the phone on Murphy Raphael John… a dear friend and the President of R.O.P.I.O Foundation… and asked, if his team… would like to play Santa for Diwali and spread “tokens of light” in the city!! What I got… was a BIG “YES” and that is where it all began 
Like every new concept, we did find our famous question marks and we did find our blank expressions and we did find so many people who said “why”… in the middle of the melee we found three very special people… Manni & Pooja & Rahul … all of whom said “yes” with enthusiasm. And we were on with Santa Workshop|Tokens of Light!!
The Workshop was an experience… filled with Light & Love! We wrapped 10,000 gifts and then went out distributing… this time, we got very confused looking people… who, once we chatted with… did smile! People were surprised to get little gifts, especially since they don’t associate Diwali with free gifts from strangers, much less a foundation. It is amazing, how excited people get when they receive and the richer experience is really for the children who play Santa… the empowered giving is something we can learn from. They don’t see the WHO of the receivers, they’re just super excited to be giving.
One of our Santa’s Ajay of R.O.P.I.O did find it a little strange, he was worried about people’s reactions and the fear of rejection… natural. Well, says a lot about the truth, that people are scared of receiving just as much as they are of giving. And especially, when it comes without a condition. The smiles, with which we distribute, in my understanding is the fine line that needs to be crossed by the receivers. Then came the idea, to spread the light through the one place, where people go to buy literature that will change their lives and a resounding yes from “Teksons Bookshop” made it possible for us to share the light and love with people who read… in this way creating a parallel example for them to experience Gratitude and Intent, that we all wish to learn and master. The grandest surprise, well, when my dear friend, Veer Suklecha, initiated a mini workshop in Mumbai… it gives me great joy to see the expansion of a small effort… that people were moved to experiment and experience the magic. Mumbai is where I was born, my deep intent, was to have this workshop in Mumbai too!! Manifested through a friend!! As I write this piece I am filled with a sense of AWE… watching an idea, complete itself and teach me to continue to do the work I do… It is a GIFT to follow a less trodden path… and it is priceless to RECEIVE, everything I needed for completion… and I still feel there is so much to learn… so much to go L.I.V.E with… and the most important of all… WE HAVE SO MUCH WE MUST DO… to assist people to GIVE and RECEIVE!
Giving isn’t about the Have, Have Nots and the Have a lot! Giving isn’t about shades of grey, here we are, clearing the air, teaching some how to give and still others how to receive and we do all of this to create a more gratitude filled knowing, that it is still possible to receive without tags or cash commitments. We are so grateful for the people who contribute to the cause to make it possible for us, so, it is a fact, that there are generous givers, who enable the process and share of their have’s for others to receive. What a brilliant way to create again a sense of SURPRISE and a deeper knowing, that everything isn’t simply taken away from us… we do receive!!! And the question really is… “ARE WE OPEN TO RECEIVE”
As I look back at the learning of this workshop, a workshop you can surely look forward to NEXT year… a larger number of givers and receivers… shall come together to create more Gratitude. We have much to learn about receiving as we do about giving. The one core ingredient that makes it all possible is our Gratitude for what we already have and all that we’ll ever want… we must be ready to RECEIVE as well as GIVE!
There is so much not right with our world, everyday, we have enough news to let us know that. Then again, someday, on some street, there will be someone who hands you a tiny gift and wishes you light and love and in accepting this gift, you accept GOODNESS, for the intent that the funds were raised, the gifts wrapped and the warmth with which they are given… is an indication that God is watching out to GIVE to you and maybe, just maybe, you have forgotten how to RECEIVE!
Give it a THOUGHT… we’re coming back with Santa Workshop|Tokens of Gratitude soon… and we’d love for you to be a part of the absolute joy of the energy and love!!
A video and a few pictures we’d like you to see…
The Wrapping … The Distribution … Santa Workshop 2011
and we hope to meet you in THOUGHT WORD and DEED at Santa Workshop|Tokens of Gratitude as we too transition from “Santa Hugs of Light” to “Santa Hugs of Gratitude”
