About an hour had passed since Ebenezer returned home and went to bed, so his body regained the physical strength he needed to continue enjoying Christmas Day. When he woke up, his spirit was overflowing with youth, and his eyes had the brightness of happiness and satisfaction produced by being honest and generous with other people. Standing in front of the mirror, Ebenezer spoke; joy expressed in his words. “I feel like a youngster, with all the desire to live my life and enjoy everything around me, but with wisdom. I must take care of my health, if I want to live many more years. Because the mirror reminds me that although my spirit became strong, vigorous and young, my body has deteriorated over time. But that will not be an impediment for my attitude to always be positive and cheerful.”
THE FOURTH CHRISTMAS SPIRIT (Part VI)
Ebenezer caminaba sin prisa. No sabia que hora era, aunque podía discernir que ya pasaba del medio día. No pensaba en cuanto tiempo había utilizado del día de Navidad porque no quería sentirse limitado o restringido por el tiempo, deseaba disfrutar al máximo ese día 25 de diciembre. Ya había sido esclavo del tiempo y el trabajo por muchos años. Ebenezer sabiamente se repetía a si mismo que los años venideros serian diferentes porque los viviría con gozo en su corazón y aunque no sabía cuántos años más le quedaban de vida, si sabia que los años por venir, los viviría plenamente, sin egoísmo, sin resentimiento, sin amargura en el alma y sin preocuparse demasiado por el futuro ya que los espíritus le habían enseñado que el futuro no nos pertenece y es incierto.
Ebenezer walked slowly. He didn’t know what time it was. Although he could discern that it was already past noon, he did not think about how much time He had used on Christmas Day because He did not want to feel limited or restricted by time, He wanted to enjoy that day December 25 to the fullest. He had already been a slave to time and work for many years. Ebenezer wisely repeated to himself that the coming years would be different because he would live them with joy in his heart and although he did not know how many more years he had left of life, he knew that in the years to come, he would live them fully, without selfishness, without resentment , without bitterness in the soul and without worrying too much about the future since the spirits had taught him that the future does not belong to us and is uncertain.
While walking Ebenezer, kept the images of the man and his family under the bridge in his head, just as the spirit of Christmas Present had shown him the night before. When he reached the bridge, he could recognize it immediately; without hesitation, he began to descend the steep path in search of that man. As Ebenezer was under the bridge, he encountered terrible sights that could easily reach the heart of any sensitive person to human pain and thought,
Ebenezer elaboro una lista mentalmente de las visitas que realizaría y mientras caminaba por la calle se encontró con tres señores que unos días antes le habían pedido una donación para los asilos del pueblo que protegían a los desamparados, ancianos y huérfanos durante todo el año. Los tres hombres al encontrarse de frente con Ebenezer lo ignoraron y siguieron caminando. Entonces Ebenezer se Volteó y levantando su mano derecha les grito, “Señores, podría conversar con ustedes un momento”. Los tres hombres se detuvieron y mirándose a los ojos entre ellos mismos afirmaron moviendo la cabeza, que si podían conversar un momento.
Ebenezer made a mental list of the visits he would make and while walking down the street, he met three men who a few days earlier had asked for a donation for the shelters of the town that protected the homeless, the elderly and orphans throughout the year. The three men, facing Ebenezer, ignored him and continued walking. Then Ebenezer turned around, raising his right hand, shouted at them, “Gentlemen, I would like to talk with you for a moment.” The three men stopped and looking into each other’s eyes, nodding their heads as to say okay.