Pumpkin field truths

We can all learn a lot from the Peanuts gang.

I'm not a big Halloween fan, but I decided to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown today, because, well, why not?

Believe it or not, there are some great life lessons and truths in this short flick.

For starters, there's the poor and naive little heart of Charlie Brown. He's been tricked by Lucy too many times to count, and he just keeps falling for her antics every single time. She told him she wouldn't pull the football away right before he kicks it, and he bought it. She fed him nothing but a pie-crust promise, yet, like many of us often do, he will be fooled again, because there's a spark of hope in his precious heart that things will be different next time.

Sweet Baboos.

Then there is the adorable Sally who provides my favorite storyline by giving up her first chance to go trick-or-treating, because she let love get in the way. Rather than go fill her bag with free candy and go to Halloween parties with friends, she spends her entire evening standing in a field with Linus—her "Sweet Baboo"—waiting for something about which she really has no clue. She doesn't have faith in The Great Pumpkin, but she has faith in Linus and stands by him and defends him. When she tells him, "If you try to hold my hand, I'll slug you," we all know she is lying and really wants to hold hands with her Sweet Baboo. And, even though Sally gets frustrated with Linus, calls herself a fool and then yells at him, "You owe me restitution!" it's still obviously done in love. She's really just upset that Linus hasn't gotten to see The Great Pumpkin yet, that's all.

Finally, there is the wonderful Linus (my favorite character of them all), who reveals what it means to be a believer among non-believers. He's incredibly faithful to The Great Pumpkin and spends every Halloween night waiting in the field in hopes of catching a glimpse of the mystical figure. He waits and waits, not caring in the least what everyone says about him. People think he's crazy, but he stays dedicated to his task. That's a man grounded in his faith, and I love that even when he doesn't see The Great Pumpkin he gets upset with Charlie Brown at the end of the movie for doubting the pumpkin's existence and starts raving about how things will be different when it appears next year. Unashamed. Love it.

I think Charles M. Schultz had a pretty solid understanding of faith and love, and it's fascinating that he was able to reveal such truth through young children. Why, then, is it so hard for some adults to let these things into their lives?

I think two things are quite clear: don't ever let people tear down your faith, and don't ever give up on your Sweet Baboo.