Kay:

Hey there Questers, and welcome back. Merriest of Christmases!

Shi:

Merry Christmas!

Kay:

Now today is obviously December 25th and kind of fortuitous that this is episode 255. So, we got 25, 25 here in the titles. We have such a fun quote for you today from the 30th president of the United States, Mr. Calvin Coolidge.

Shi:

He tells us, “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”

Kay:

Now, this is not even in our notes, but I can’t help but feel like we’ve got a little Jay-Z here in Christmas. That’s what dreams are made of enough to inspire you. It’s that Christmas state of mind.

Shi:

Yeah, exactly. Well, it is about that spirit of Christmas here in this quote and reminding us that it is that state of mind. The spirit of Christmas means something different to most people. We have this general idea that it’s about giving and it’s about family, but for a lot of people, this is a lonely time of year or a sad time of year or an “I’m missing” time of year. But channeling into what makes it special for you, and particularly to you outside of what others expect you to do, can help you get back into that spirit, no matter what time of year it is.

Kay:

Well, what I love here is that the spirit of Christmas is not plenteous in presence. It’s not cherishing belongings. It’s not Goodwill to only your family. He’s saying to cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, and is to have that real Christmas Spirit. So, cherishing peace and goodwill doesn’t mean I cherish peace and goodwill to the people that I like and who agree with me. It’s about cherishing peace and goodwill to all. To be plenteous in mercy. I mean, the definition of mercy is: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. Many of us might think, “Well, of course, I’m merciful.” If I had a gun to someone’s head, I would take that gun away. I would show mercy. But how often are you withholding compassion or forgiveness to yourself?

Shi:

That’s a great point to make. We’re often so hard on ourselves. Many of you know that we’ve been partnered with Joseph McClendon III to help bring some more content and programs forward from him. But he recently did a teaching on “how often do you hurt your own feelings?” It was really interesting to just see the comments and the resonance of this question with the audience because so many of us recognize, ah, yes, I am the one that hurts my feelings far more often than anyone else. Mercy starts at home just like charity.

Kay:

Mercy starts at home everybody. You can think I don’t punish others or I’m not a punishment kind of person, but punishment can be emotional. So, think of where in your life you might be not providing mercy to yourself or others by withholding forgiveness. Oftentimes the reason for this season is finding that level of love within yourself so that you can bring yourself either closer to your own authentic person or that you can bring yourself closer to loved ones who may have strived far away because of one reason or another.

Shi:

You know Kay and I recently had the incredible privilege to spend about 48 hours at the Ritz Carlton up in Lake Tahoe through timeshare points and a whole thing.

Kay:

We got really creative.

Shi:

We did, we had a virtual conference to attend and ended up just magically getting to stay this weekend at the Ritz Carlton, (both of our first experiences at a Ritz!) and it did not disappoint. It was absolutely fabulous. There was snow. We had a view of the little Christmas village. There was a fire, there was a snowman building. There was a sled. You could see the ski lift. There was a ski instructor. There was the giant Christmas tree. We’ve joked it was like being in a puzzle.

Kay:

It was like literally living inside a Christmas puzzle.

Shi:

Living inside of a Christmas puzzle for 48 hours. Everything was just so amazing. We spent the whole 48 hours in awe, just like trying to soak it in. I wanted to open my eyes bigger.

Kay:

We kept going outside going [inhales deeply].

Shi:

Smell it…

Kay:

Try to get it in. You never want to leave.

Shi:

…imprint it on my system! And then afterward, just last night, we were texting about how wonderful that was and sharing some of the videos back and forth and then saying, gosh, isn’t it crazy that that is happening right now. It is still there. The Christmas puzzle is alive and well, and it’s happening all the time and to realize that it’s there and that it’s there all across the world in all kinds of different, beautiful, amazing settings. Then to take that even one step further and say, it’s not just there, it’s a state of being inside of us that’s also accessible all the time.

Kay:

How often do we go outside immediately after a rain and go [inhales deeply] to soak in the smell for as much as you can? But how often do you do that on a Tuesday morning? So, finding that way to bring in the way that you would behave if Christmas were not at time nor season, but a state of mind like Calvin Coolidge says. So, just a reminder here on this Christmas day, and Merry Christmas guys!

Shi:

Merry Christmas.

Kay:

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”

Shi:

All right. It’s Christmas Quest time! We are asking you to embrace Calvin Coolidge’s Christmas state of mind today by doing everything in your power to promote peace and mercy through your actions on this day. Don’t forget to promote it to yourself and, mostly, we wish you a very Merry Christmas! All right, are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!