You read that right -- Santa is real.

No, I am not a twenty-something that still thinks a man in a puffy red suit comes down my chimney and delivers presents to me and my cat in the middle of the night. I am talking about the spirit of Santa and what Santa represents.

Santa is love, hope, and happiness. He is the spirit of giving to others. He represents the notion that we need to be able to believe in things we can't hold in our hands. So, our job as humans and cheery people is to make sure "santa" is always present during Christmas time.

I always knew and understood the importance of the belief of Santa in children, but I just dropped the Santa concept once children stopped believing in him. I thought that was the end of Santa. It wasn't until recently that I realized there was a much bigger, larger concept that could be applicable for those of all ages.

I had this epiphany in the middle of the display trees in Target. Let me explain.

I went into Target the other day for something little. It should have been a quick in and out. I don't know what it is about Target, but all the sudden I am walking the store four times and my cart fills up. Anyways, I digress. I ended up in the Christmas section and was staring at the wall of lights -- I think I was a little overwhelmed with the idea of being handy and hanging up Christmas lights. Next thing I know an older man begins telling me all about Christmas lights -- what ones are his favorite, what LED lights are, how great they are, what cool lights are, how many lights is on each string, and the price per light.

These are all questions I would never think to ask let alone really care about. Before I knew it, I was following this man around the Christmas section looking at all the display trees. He was telling me how beautiful, peaceful, and bright they looked. Man, they really did look beautiful.

At first I was a little weirded out and embarrassed. Everyone around me knew that I didn't know this man. But, it ended up being the most magical experience I have ever had. It filled me with so much holiday spirit. For a hot second I was convinced it was Santa in another body.

It reminded me of the importance of Christmas and the belief in Santa. Santa is real if you let him be real. Allow him to be real for others.