It was in 1855 that poet Robert Browning first penned the phrase “less is more”, but it is apparent that it never gained the traction for which Browning had hoped. His adage takes on special significance at Christmas time in America. Not all that long-ago, gift-giving at Christmas was a symbolic gesture. It told the recipients that we were thinking of them fondly and that we cared about their happiness and pleasure. How many gifts, however, did you give others last year, especially to the children? The problem with human beings seems to be they love complexity, anxiety, and heartburn. If it doesn’t already exist, they invent it. The Stranger in the Mist suggests a more joyful game plan.