I’d like to share a true story with you. It’s an event which gave us the birth of one of our most recent traditions.
It’s a tale of childlike naivety set against a backdrop of a world which revolved around adults distrusting each other.
It centres around a simple mistake of someone dialling the wrong number. A tiny event but one with big ramifications. Something which resulted in the world becoming a (slightly) better place for us all.
The date is November, 1955. Military commanders are hunkered down in a top secret nuclear bunker in Colorado, North America. Today it’s known as NORAD. In the fifties, it was referred to as CONAD (the Continental Air Defence Command).
Behind the blast proof doors and deep underground there was a tension in the air. The mood was bleak. Very bleak.
The situation between East and West was not good and these guys had the job of scanning the skies to spot the signs of an impending attack by the Soviet Union.
Suddenly, the red phone starts to ring. Countless films have shown us what it’s like for a commanding officers to sprint towards this impending machine of doom with their hearts racing knowing that it can only mean one thing…
It was a 38 year old father of four, Colonel Shoup, who nervously picked up the receiver. This could be the call that all of the COs would dread from their training days. His mind was racing. It could only mean one thing.
Can I speak with Santa Claus, please?
Global politics had now failed. The balloon had ‘gone up’ and Planet Earth was about to embrace a bleak, dark future.
Few people had this number. In short, he was expecting to either hear the voice of President Eisenhower – or the tones of a Four Star General. Launch codes would be verified. Responses would be made.
Imagine the surprise for Shoup when he hears the nervous voice of a child who was asking to speak with Santa Claus. Surely this was a joke? Kids didn’t have the phone number for one of America’s most sensitive military sites.
This had to be an ‘inside job’ and whoever was the prankster was about to receive a dishonourable discharge.
Except this was no joke. The Colonel quickly realised he really was speaking with a child who really did want to have a chat with Santa. As a Dad himself, his heart melted and he started to chat about Father Christmas.
Eventually, the caller’s mother comes on the line and it becomes apparent that a local newspaper had printed a number for Santa Claus which children could ring – day or night.
The problem was the newspaper had made a single digit mistake in its telephone details for Santa. The mistake meant families would now be ringing the US’ nuclear hotline to chat with elves about their present wish list.
The quick thinking Colonel instructed his staff to prepare themselves for a deluge of calls.
Huge wall maps showing North America and Canada would have Santa’s Sleigh added to them. Adapt. Improvise. Overcome. And, with that, the precursor to NORAD’s Santa Tracker was born.
NORAD’s Santa Tracker
Fast forward 69 years and families across the world will soon be logging onto the NORAD Santa Trackerwebsite to see where the famous sleigh is – and how long it’ll take for him to reach your residence.
The early years of the Santa Tracker meant that certain countries were firmly on the ‘naughty step’ when it came to visits (or the lack thereof). An aside here, the maps would rarely show Rudolph speed across Russian airspace.
As therapists, there is so much which we can gain from the story. Our intellectual brains aren’t fully developed until we reach our mid-twenties.
Up until our teenage years, we can effectively immerse ourselves into a wonderful Fairy Tale world of wonderment.
As an aside, I am certainly not suggesting that Santa Claus doesn’t exist and anyone who thinks that it’s all a myth should log onto the Santa Tracker – where you can watch the famous sledge and its progress around the world.
The team use radar, satellite and AWAC aircraft to log the journey. This year, they expect to receive approximately a quarter of a million calls on Christmas Eve itself and the Santa Tracker has more than two million followers on social media.
And the evidence of Santa’s existence doesn’t stop with the live feeds from the US military.
Even astronauts on the famous Apollo 8 mission saw the North Pole resident hurtle across our skies. Their 1968 Christmas Eve message simply read: ‘Please be informed there is a Santa Claus.’
‘Connecting through to our inner child’
As our frontal cortex fully develops and matures then (sadly) so our child fantasy worlds can start to take a backward step.
But, like Colonel Shoup (and the Apollo 8 crew), it’s important that we can all still connect through to that childlike ability to wonder at the world around us.
They show us the importance of kindness and patience. In Shoup’s case, it would have been very easy for him to have hung up the phone. He didn’t.
Our compassion can often start on the phone when we chat with a client for the first time to take details for the initial consultation.
We can also find ourselves speaking with the ‘childlike’ part of a person who has experienced substantial stress (or trauma) and is struggling to deal with its aftermath.
Our ability to be able to create a world of escape for our clients through the usage of metaphor can provide an opportunity for them to engage with their ‘inner child’ so they can start their own healing process.
Allowing ourselves the opportunity to absorb those uplifting stories which highlight the compassion of humanity can create that all important shift in ourselves as we benefit from a release of serotonin and oxytocin.
New Year: New starts
Looking ahead to 2024 and there’s a real sense of optimism for our industry. January can be busy for our members as people reach out for help in achieving their New Year’s resolutions.
Past experience highlights the importance of ensuring our websites and social media feeds are updated with how we can help people improve their lives – from stopping smoking through to help with losing weight.
Equally, it can be advisable to keep a close eye on your inbox and incoming calls at the very start of the New Year.
Afterall, potential clients might decide to phone around therapists in the first few days of January to see if they can talk through their goals for 2024.
Answering that call or quickly responding to that email can make all the difference for them – and your business.
In terms of the British economy, we expect to see continued growth during the course of the next year. Experts predict GDP will grow at a ‘modest’ pace of around 0.5%. (The important take home point here is that the economy is set to grow).
Economic growth should mean that people will start to feel more confident with their money and so encourage spending in key areas of their lives.
This may include all important changes to their own personal lives. Changes which have been on the ‘back burner’ when money has been tight.
Using your website and social media platforms to explain how your work is an effective investment in someone’s future might encourage people to get in touch with you so you can develop a personal plan with them.
It means they can rest assured that the New Year starts with a renewed sense of optimism – and a chance to change their lives for the better.
We hope you have a wonderful, peaceful Christmas with a wonderful start to the New Year.
