The Idiots Guide
Sometimes it's about "ADULTING" enough for the day, and other times it's about Keeping a job, Feeding the family, Educating the kids, and Buying the stuff.
Most of us were taught how to read, write, and math good.
But never taught how to file taxes, change a tire, or cook a meal.
How in the world have we survived?
Well, have no fear, the Idiots are here to guide you.
We don't know much more about all the stuff but we might be just a little further down the road than you.
Make no mistake, most of our advice is more like don't try this at home.
Hope it helps!
The Idiots Guide
Carrying Christmas Spirit Beyond the Holidays Ep69 TIG
Ever wondered how a miserly old man can teach us about the power of empathy and compassion? Journey with us as we unravel the enduring messages of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," exploring the profound transformations initiated by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. We promise you'll gain insights into nurturing relationships and cherishing every moment, offering fresh perspectives on how joy transcends material wealth. Join us in reflecting on personal traditions, cherished family memories, and Scrooge's vow to honor Christmas all year round.
Through the lens of film adaptations, particularly the faithful 1984 George C. Scott version, we dive into the story's timeless lessons on humanity's business. Explore Jacob Marley's chilling visit and Fred's unwavering kindness to understand the importance of mercy and forgiveness. As we share personal anecdotes and delve into Scrooge's formative years with Fezziwig, you'll discover how grudges can impact one's soul and the significance of selfless service without expecting anything in return.
Our episode closes with a reflection on societal values and the transformation of Scrooge's character. Drawing parallels with our modern world, we challenge you to embody Jacob Marley's role, advocating for positive change and empathy. With a sprinkle of humor from "Jokes with Joe," we ensure there's plenty of laughter in the mix. Ready to embrace Dickens' message and honor Christmas in your heart year-round? Tune in for inspiration that promises to stay with you long after the holiday season ends.
Today on the Idiot's Guide picture this it's a frosty evening, the streets are aglow with twinkling holiday lights and the sound of carolers echoing through the air. The world seems wrapped in a blanket of festive cheer right. But beneath the glittering surface there lies a timeless story that offers more than just holiday nostalgia. It whispers lessons we all need to hear as we close out one year and step into the next. Today we're diving into Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol, a tale of transformation, hope and the enduring spirit of the season. We'll explore how the story's three spirits the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet to come can guide us toward a meaningful life. As Scrooge himself said, I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. So how do we do that? Let's find out as we reflect on the past, embrace the present and shape our future. I'm your host, adam Richardson, aka the Profit Hacker, and I'm joined by the man in charge, mr Joe Haslam. Welcome to the Idiot's Guide. So, charles Dickens A Christmas Story.
Speaker 2:No, a Christmas Carol, a Christmas Carol, a Christmas Carol.
Speaker 1:A Christmas Carol, a Christmas. Carol, you'll shoot your eye out and is nowhere near as good. Don't shoot my eye out for saying that. My bad, it was a complete slip.
Speaker 2:Christmas Carol, I'm back.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of versions, there's tons of versions of this that are video versions, but it's still based on the book, right, and I think the book obviously I like, like they do in everything. Like you can't really get a movie that is as good a quality as the actual original story is going to be. It's rare, almost almost impossible, because of how much, how much more content you can fit into a book, right, as opposed to just what you can try to capture on a, on a scene with actors, or even a cartoon, you know, and though, though, they're going to do their idea or their interpretation, even that seems to fall short. But I think what's interesting is, like you know and I learned this last year when we talked about Christmas is that you have a tradition in your home that you've done for a long time, probably since you were younger, maybe I don't know. You have an appreciation for this, that, uh, that, that, that to me, I, I don't have that tradition, so I am a lot of.
Speaker 1:This is, like you know, when you sit in that space and you, you're like you're quoting movies from like ace ventura, and everyone's like oh yeah, I like this line, oh yeah, I like this line. No, these are really, really like steak and potato lines, you know, and and you're quoting this these lines going like, okay, hold on a sec, like I am lost. On the first line you say you, you know so, so unpack for a second here why. You know what, what this carries, the weight. You know what, what is the biggest kind of weight carrying moment that you feel like? And also just a little bit about the tradition for you.
Speaker 2:So you know, there are two major quotes that I highlight to my kids every year and something that I try to remember and I've actually used them with, actually used them in communications to other people about who are maybe more neglectful than they should be for what their behavior is.
Speaker 1:Like they should get coal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, but the first one is from Jacob Marley and it's when you know. This is where this is essentially where the book starts. Now one thing here. So you were talking about the difference between book and movie. My favorite version, movie version that is actually fairly close. Now it does miss some parts. It's not perfect no movie ever will be but the best one is the 1984 George C Scott A Christmas Carol. It is phenomenally done, so close to the original book that it is one of my favorites. So it may not get all the words perfectly right, it may not get all the scenes perfectly right. Obviously they have to cut it for time and things like that. But the sentiment, the idea, the, the, the meanings within that film are so tied and and exactly what the book is trying to do. But Jacob Marley starts out with Scrooge, you know, gives backstory, all this stuff, and then he's visited by his old business partner.
Speaker 2:Now, one of the reasons I really like this is because this is about accountants. You know most people don't realize, but Bob Cratchit is a. They call him a clerk. That's what accountants used to be called, that's true. So when you see him is a, they call him a clerk. That's what accountants used to be called. That's true. So when you see him, you know they talk about. You know the ledgers and uh, when you watch the movies he's doing the ledgers they're all writing stuff down. That's this right there, that's that ledger book that they're actually recording. You know accounts and, uh, scrooge is a um money changer. He's a commodities broker and so he does a lot with money to manage how things are working. So there's a lot to that, but modern day he would be equatable, closely relatable, to a stock broker at the New York Stock Exchange. Okay, so this is, and we all know how we feel about them today. I mean, most people think they're very focused on that and not the nicest of people.
Speaker 1:They're just not a lot of personality, I suppose, right.
Speaker 2:And so the idea that you've got Scrooge and he is so focused on his business. He wants to build a financial empire because that's what he values, and so he's doing that to the neglect of everyone else. And I think we all find ourselves in that position. We focus so much on money, we focus so much on making that next dollar and pushing ourselves to do that, to the neglect of others. We make deals that may be less advantageous to someone else. We make selfish decisions that focus on us at the detriment of someone else, and so there are a lot of times in life where we do that. And this is why this quote is so vitally important and why it opens out a Christmas carol. And so this is the quote. I'm going to read it. And so this is Jacob Marley talking to Scrooge when he's talking about how you were always good at business. And this is Marley's response.
Speaker 2:Business, cried the ghost wringing its hands again. Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business. Charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business. I wear the chain I forged in life, and that is when you break that down. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business, not a bowl, not a lake the comprehensive ocean of my business. What we do for work on a day-to-day basis is so vastly insignificant to the business of what we, as humans, are supposed to be doing. We, as humans, our business, is charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence.
Speaker 1:I think it's just interesting to. It's not to diminish it, but more simplify it. It's just to say that it shows that caring for others is always more important than just going after that next dollar.
Speaker 2:It's not just caring for others.
Speaker 1:Well, right, I mean caring is real simple, like I said, it's not to diminish. I mean caring is a real simple, like I said, it's not to diminish. It's saying that all of those elements of the charity and mercy, forbearance, benevolence, are all values of that, but it's an effort of this selfless service toward others.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and again, it's the idea of benevolence and forbearance. You know we don't really use those words today, that's true. You know we don't really use those words today, that's true. But benevolence and forbearance means to forgive, it means to not hold a grudge, it means to. It's more than just doing service or being kind.
Speaker 1:It's not a. There's terms to your help. You know there's not a. It's not a conditional love, it's. It's a you're caring for somebody or you're that. You know you're providing for somebody, giving to something without a. Okay, now, what do I get?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we. We see the forbearance and benevolence in Fred Scrooge's nephew. So, no matter how horrible Scrooge is, he says that anyone who celebrates Christmas should be boiled in his own oil and buried with a stick of holly in their heart. That's dark.
Speaker 1:Scrooge is a dark person when it comes to let's see if my editor can find a picture.
Speaker 2:yeah, you know he is just nasty toward Fred. He says that to his nephew, who is coming to invite him to celebrate. And so, in essence, he is telling Fred you should be boiled in your own oil and buried with a stick of holly in your heart. That is what Scrooge is telling to his nephew. And yet every year Fred comes and offers to his uncle to join them. And even in later communications, when they're visiting with the ghosts, fred never says anything negative about his uncle.
Speaker 2:No matter how horrible someone is, that forbearance, that benevolence is to always give that kindness, to always show them love, no matter how horrible the person is, no matter how horrible the person is. That's the idea being able to give up of who you are, of what money you have, being able to just be the best. So every year this is why this is a tradition for me is because every year we need that reminder to carry with us into the next year that we are selfish beings. The number one rule of economic principle is that people will do things that are in their own best interest. Basically, people are selfish, yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean that is the first thing you learn in economics.
Speaker 1:It's a principle in marketing. Is I exploit that? Yeah, because that is a natural state for humanity.
Speaker 2:And so we need this and we need to remember the message that Marley is saying. And now the ghosts come and they give additional education to Scrooge. That ties into this, but that is what Marley is trying to give to scrooge is a better understanding of what humanity's role is to each other. And so every year, every year, on christmas eve, I watch that movie, the, the 1984 version because, again, I think it's the best with my children and is so vital and important that we remember and learn these lessons and that they carry with us into the future. Yeah, so that we remember that. And there are a lot of other lessons that go on. We'll talk about those, but that number one is so important, so important I think it's a good element of the you mentioned.
Speaker 1:It's you know, at the very front end of everything before they, before you see the dynamics, you see the characters that are engaging, or you know in their behavior in the way that this is and this tragic admittance to the fact of what we should be and how we should behave, but yet we've distorted it and now comes the consequence of that is because of these, because of our, our, our, our poor character, now we're going to be visited by reality, you know.
Speaker 1:And so let's dive a little bit into these elements. Let's talk about, like the first one obviously in the Christmas Carol is the ghost of Christmas past. And so, you know, thinking about like let's keep it a little bit more of a micro level and just look at the last year, I've been like the depth that it goes into in the Christmas Carol is is definitely more of a lifetime of behavior. But even if we just take that small snapshot and say like, look over the last year, have I been angry at somebody on the freeway when I'm driving? I was like sure, absolutely, why? Because I didn't let them merge when they were trying to get on the freeway when I'm driving. I was like sure, absolutely why?
Speaker 2:Because I didn't let them merge when they were trying to get on the freeway.
Speaker 1:They were going slower than me. So I'm like, hold on a sec, that's that. Even right, there is a form of generosity, man, like be share the road. You know it's not just you on this like, like that's something that in Utah, the drivers it's always about the road. But uh, you know, I think reflecting on moments of your life, especially when we're stepping into the new new year, is to go back and instead of going like, well, I'm going to make all these changes and I'm going to do this stuff and make all these resolutions that I'm going to quit on the on the 2nd of January and uh, you know, and that be the, the norm that we've continuing do can, continuing to do is is this you know, make a shift and and adjust that for looking back through the year and see if there's things that you can celebrate in that, rather than just looking at. You know, like you know, you're giving yourself a bad Google review. You know, you're like I give this year two stars, you know.
Speaker 2:But I think more than that is not just even just looking at the last year, it's looking at all of your life. You know, when we're looking through Scrooge's history, one of the first things we learn about Scrooge's past is that his mother died in childbirth and his father held him a grudge, and that idea of unwillingness to forgive. Scrooge was the victim of that, and so the ghost of Christmas past is reminding him that his current actions of refusing to forgive, refusing to show mercy, is something that he himself was a victim of but has forgotten over the years. And so when he took time to reflect and look back and saw how much did that hurt him to be held a grudge for doing nothing other than simply being born, and the hurt that he felt from that, Almost carries no weight, I think an important trait for just people generally.
Speaker 1:It reminds me of a situation I went through in the last few years that was really difficult personally and instead of me just going, well, this person's this, this, this, this and this, it caused me to go. Am I exhibiting that? It caused me to go? Am I exhibiting that and to say, have I because of this experience? Like you said, scrooge didn't experience the forgiveness or got so much heavy criticism from his upbringing that he didn't know that he was applying the same law against his relationships. And so you know it's it's. It's not something that necessarily he would really even know otherwise, but now you know what this is doing is letting him see that this is a missing piece of his life is to go like, look all the while, while you were the those, these are the dark moments.
Speaker 1:but let's, let's look at, here's a success in that. Here is a not not in maybe that dark moment, but here's a misstep, but maybe there's there's other elements where we, you know, do we learn from this mistake, you know, do we see that we had some successes and you can't be, you can't be a successful accountant with loads of money without a track of success. It doesn't come by just hoarding, it isn't that way. There's a skill set that's acquired by there. So I don't know the whole buildup because, like I said, I'm shooting in the dark. As far as who he is, maybe he's a trust fund baby and that's all he's doing.
Speaker 2:But so a little bit different from where you're coming across from Okay. So he did receive some money as an inheritance and that's how he started his firm Okay, and so he used that to. He leveraged the money he got to be able to make more. And his first lesson in good relationships was from Fezziwig. So back then, when you were so after you're done with school, you go and did a what we would now call an internship, and so he went and interned with, uh, fezziwig, and so he was a clerk. He was an accountant for Fezziwig. He was paid very little, um, but Fezziwig was a very generous individual, so he had many children, he showed extreme love for his wife and this was just a great relationship of how someone ran business, and he was very generous even with the wage that he gave to his clerks. And so it was the first experience that Scrooge had to be able to see. He had this, you know, very cold upbringing, and now he saw just this very bright, positive, enjoyable experience, and there he met his fiance and in that environment of that love and positive nature it led Scrooge to make a lot of good choices.
Speaker 2:And then, when he received the inheritance, he left Fezziwig's environment and outside of that he fell back to that very cold money focused because he had such a hard upbringing. He wanted to give himself and his fiance a great life. He had good intentions but he got lost in those and that's actually explained in the book. His fiancee left him because his priorities, while they started out good, turned to selfishness, and so it's. There were a lot of good things, a lot of good environments that he was in, but when, when he focused on trying to have something, that trying to have that security was the hardest thing for him, and when he focused so much just on being secure happiness will come when I'm secure. Happiness will come when I have lots of money. Happiness will come when all of this he wanted to make sure that everything was ready. He was trying to merge the Fezziwig and his own father's influence on him and it led him down the wrong direction.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that's a common trait that people, especially you, said happiness will come when I've done that, when this is there, and you can get stuck in the preparation for that forever and forget the fact that in Fezziwig's environment, essentially, he was exposed to the blessing of generosity, of what happens when you are that that that person is the, the blessing you receive. It's not monetary, it's not a a pile of cash. But the distortion happened when, when scrooge receives the pile of cash, then all of a sudden, you know his, his idea is that if I have a little bit more, if I make a little bit more, if I make this a little bit more, if I make this grow, I will achieve what. Maybe the example of Fezziwig, you know, a distorted example of that, obviously.
Speaker 2:When I have this much money, I'll be able to do what Fezziwig did I'll be able to give. I'll be able to do all of this.
Speaker 1:But I want to take care of this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this first, and so I'm going to work until all those are achieved. Then I can be this, and it's like fezzi wig, it sounds like was completely opposite. He's like, well, this first right, and then, you know, because of this, it takes care of all of that right, and that's a, that's a, I mean, that's a principle, in, in, in, even religious practices like you know, you know, like I, you know it is.
Speaker 1:It is a. It's an interesting dynamic because most people, even money itself doesn't project that thought process. And so, you know, I I think to, to get back to kind of what the you know, what the past reveals is really what you have to look at is to go like, okay, there was george, there was moments with fezziwig that he had a good, solid example. It was a misapplication because of his upbringing, plus that that he, and then the distortion when money arrived, that that created that, and and a lot of us can get stuck in that trap. You know, I think it's important to reflect on your successes. Where are you? You know a lot of times when.
Speaker 1:I think about, even personally, just going like man, I get hard on myself. I got something, I've got deadlines, I'm just trucking along trying to get this and I'm like I just once it's done. You know, and I'm like it's it's not about once it's done, because once it's done there's another thing It'll be there. I promise it doesn't stop. But if I get stuck in that like once it's done, I'll be able to catch my breath, then I forget that being the blessing in other elements of my life that I do the things that I'm active in. I can lose sight of those things and so spending time just kind of stepping back and going, yeah, but like I, I loved this, this was a good opportunity, this was great over here, this was good over here and not just stuck on. You know this, this, this path, this, this just rut of a pathway.
Speaker 2:And I think you know to go along with that. You know, looking at your past and seeing where there were good things, where there were negative things, try to avoid in your life because you felt what that negative was. Try to avoid that. But also recognize that. You know, when scrooge left fezzi wigs environment, he no longer had that positive influence. And then when he lost his fiancée he had even less of that. He had no family there to ground him. He had his sister, but I believe she had passed away by then and so he really didn't have any close connection to keep him in that positive environment.
Speaker 2:And so when we look back, how many people do we have around us that are positive, that are good, that are building us up? And that's what you need to look for is find people that will help you, because without that then we do run into that environment where Scrooge was in of. There's no one there, and so you naturally become just more selfish because you're the only one in your circle. And so open up your circle, look for other people, look for friends, family, anyone that can help build you up and build that social network.
Speaker 1:Well, if this episode inspires you to reflect on your past, maybe embrace your present or dream about your future, don't keep it to yourself. We want to hear about it. Hit that like button and subscribe so you never miss an episode filled with encouragement and actionable advice. And if you know someone who could use a little holiday inspiration, share this podcast with them, share this episode with them. Let's spread the spirit of transformation together. So let's go to.
Speaker 1:What sounds to me like I mean mean we were doing a little prep work before we hit record is, I think, a little underrated in most depictions of this ghost. Yes, and then also why it is so much the transformative element of the entire Christmas Carol. It is so. That being said, this is the ghost of Christmas present and I think you have something that I know you want to go over with it and I think that's an element of this. I don't think that what we have as far as my notes really hit the mark, but, but I think you know, maybe, maybe we can grab some, some of it from from what I have as far as my notes and your notes. Yeah, but I would like to go through and possibly have you read that, that that section. If you want to build it up, whatever you want to build it up, whatever you want to do, I'm going to kind of hands off and we'll see if I can find some application in this.
Speaker 2:So when we talk about the Ghost of Christmas Present, he is very jovial, very joyful, very vibrant with life. Yeah, and that's the idea of the Ghost of Christmas Present is the present is very lively, it's very hopeful, it's very bright, and he goes and throughout this he's showing, scrooge all of the people enjoying, all of the people having fun. Again, this carries on from showing him when he wished he had that environment growing up when he was with his father. He wished he was at a boarding school, but he wished he had this when he was with Fezziwig and then he lost it. And so the ghost of Christmas present is trying to remind him how much joy there is every day and I think we miss that message in the frivolity of everything.
Speaker 2:We read the story of the party at Fred's house, we read about the meager Christmas dinner at uh uh, bob Cratchit's house, and we, we, we see that, despite that, fred being well off, uh, not, uh, not rich, uh, but well off, and the, the joy that they have, the games that they play, all this fun.
Speaker 2:And then we see Bob Cratchit, who makes very, very little, has a big family and still they enjoy having nothing and the dichotomy there of no matter whether you're rich or poor, you can still have fun, you can still enjoy life and have this positive and just enjoyment. You can still enjoy life and have this positive and just enjoyment. And then so you're seeing all of this greatness and there's a sharp transition at the end of this, and so at first we're reminding Scrooge, or we're seeing Scrooge being reminded of how to have joy, how to enjoy, how to live life, or we're seeing Truge being reminded of how to have joy, how to enjoy, how to live life, and then, in a moment, he's taken to a place where it is a whole lot worse, and I like the way that this is depicted in the movie version.
Speaker 1:It's still in the present.
Speaker 2:Still in the present. Okay, he takes him to a. This is in the, the 1984 movie version. Uh, he takes them to see a, a homeless camp, okay, under a bridge. And here he sees it's depicted a family that is basically eating a few potatoes as their Christmas dinner. And so we've got these three levels of prosperity. You know the well-off, fred, the not very well-off, but enough employed Cratchit family. And then we have the unemployed living off of potatoes that fall off a cart, living under a bridge, and how there is still pride there. And the husband says I want you to go to the poorhouse because I can't afford. In there At least you'll have something. And the wife says absolutely not. If we go there we will lose our family connection, we'll be separated and we won't have anything.
Speaker 2:Even in that horrible situation situation, family and togetherness is still the most important thing, and Scrooge doesn't quite get it. But we go to this point where we're seeing so much happiness and joy and then, all of a sudden, you know this very dark moment, and he doesn't understand how they would still live there instead of going somewhere else. Because, again, he didn't have strong family bonds and he's very much got abandonment issues. But in this moment. He notices something with the ghost of Christmas present, and I'm going to read it because it's kind of long, okay, but he asks. He sees what looks almost like a foot or a claw coming out from the ghost's robes, and so he asks what is that? And so, from the folding of its robes it brought two children.
Speaker 2:I love the adjectives in here Wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet and clung upon the outside of its garment. Oh man, look here, look look down here, exclaimed the ghost. They were a boy and a girl, yellow, meager, ragged, scowling and wolfish, but prostrate too in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shriveled hand like that of age had pinched and twisted them and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked and glared out, menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity in any grade. Through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread? Scrooge started back, appalled Having them shown to him this way. He tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves.
Speaker 2:Rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude, spirit. Are they yours? Scrooge could say no more. They are man's. What are they? They are your children's, said the spirit, looking down upon them, and they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is ignorance, this girl is want. Beware them both and all their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is doom unless the writings be erased. Deny it, cried the spirit, stretching out his hands toward the city. Slander those who tell it. Ye, admit it for your factious purposes and make it worse and abide the end. Have they no refuge or resource, cried Scrooge. Are there no prisons, said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words Are there no workhouses? We often lose the meaning in that because there are a lot of archaic words in there, because it's very poetic, it's very big wordy.
Speaker 1:It's interesting because it's illustrative in the description Talking about the skin color of the kids, description talking about the, the skin color of the of the kids, and how, just even you, you're our natural instinct to try to remedy that somehow, to give it lighter, lighter complexion, and not necessarily in a sense of, like some kind of you know, uh yeah, political or what you know what I mean like, not not in that way, but but more just to try to increase the, the warmth of it, you know, increase the value or the, the level of. Is there a loving characteristic to that, you know, welcoming characteristic, and what it's saying, you know, to the tail end of that is, make as much distance from that as you possibly can, because and even then, once you've made that distance, make more, because you shouldn't, you shouldn't ever consider those things. The most detestable is the want and and and, that, that desire that we pursue all of our wants, especially we live in a society now where that is our nature. We live in a society that basically anything is at an on-demand status.
Speaker 2:And I think that's part of where we miss the message is you're using the wrong want. The message is you're using the wrong want. So what he's talking about here with ignorance and want is not that the child of man being. Want is our fulfilling of our every desire. Want is the lack of having anything, and so what he's showing is ignorance and lack. So the ghost of Christmas present is not talking about Scrooge.
Speaker 1:He's talking about mankind.
Speaker 2:He is talking about the children of mankind. Okay, mankind, okay. So what we see at this end point of the ghost of christmas present is a family wanting, a family in severe want. They are eating potatoes that fell off a cart for their family for their christmas dinner. That is the want that is the child of mankind. That there are people out there that are starving, that there are people out there that don't have enough to even fill their belly. They're eating maybe once every few days. And that is a disgusting, that is a perversion of humanity's actions. No person, no one, should ever want for anything. Everyone in humanity should have enough to survive and thrive.
Speaker 2:And the fact that there is want because of individual greed is the problem that the Ghost of Christmas Present is trying to show. Is that because of our greed, because of our own selfishness, that there are children that are starving, that there are children that are dying because of a lack of food, because of a lack of educational resources? I mean, it's not just about food. There are children throughout the United States who don't have the resources to even go to school, to get a proper education, and it's because we're too selfish to be able to give a little piece of ourselves to give a little bit extra money. Everyone in this country complains about our taxes are too high. Everyone complains about I don't have kids. Why should I spend money on education? Why should I put money into these schools? It's because there are kids out there who don't have it.
Speaker 2:The ghost of Christmas present is telling us that want is the most undesirable of our children, of our actions, and he describes it in such vile ways that we allow this want to happen. We're talking about school supplies, education, job opportunities, college education all of these things. Medical I don't care who this person is. If someone needs medical attention, they need to get it. And who are we as human beings to deny a fellow human being basic medical care?
Speaker 2:That is disgusting of us, yeah, and this hasn't changed in the last 200 years that this is still going on. We have people in this country. They are. Some of them are US citizens, some of them are not US citizens. Who the hell do we think we are? That just because someone is in this country illegally, that they don't deserve basic human decency and beyond that, the ghost talks about even worse than want the spelling of doom for the human society is ignorance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, an unwillingness an unwillingness to learn to see what's really going on, to walk a mile in their shoes. We try to ignore what's really going on in the world. We live on our own ivory towers, ivory towers, trying to not see what's really going on. My children came from foster care. Do you know how many people try to ignore that the foster care system even exists? Even the leaders of the foster care system in our state try to ignore that the foster care system even exists, that children are in need and are being tortured and suffer, and yet we put on blinders, we try to ignore what's really going on. We don't want to walk a mile in their shoes and you know what's going to happen to our society if we continue to do that. Exactly what ghost of christmas present says doom? Our society will be destroyed if we continue to act this way. And this book is 200 years old and yet we have done nothing except make it worse and yes, I'm going on a rant here. This is why it is so important and vital that we study this book, because there is so much profound here.
Speaker 2:This isn't even a Christmas story. Yes, it takes place at Christmas, but this is about basic, basic human decency and how, when we choose to ignore the problems in our world, when we choose to allow, want and need to exist, all we do is spell out our own destruction. And that's what Scrooge is learning from the Ghost of Christmas Present. He saw the great joy, all the great things going on at Fred. You know, yes, cratchit, it's not great, but he still has fun. And now, in that final moment, he is shown the worst. And how he himself, scrooge, used those words to try to ignore the reality of what's going on. He has no idea what happens at those poorhouses, he doesn't know what happens at the workhouses, but he just says send them there.
Speaker 1:Ignor ignorance and want, spell the destruction of society so to I guess I don't know, I don't think it's necessarily a positive spin on on this, but I think a perspective is important to grab from this and I know that there's I don't think there's really anything that I could probably say that's going to give merit to the depth of what you're, you know, your rant To throw some perspective in here.
Speaker 2:You're a Christian minister, so those of you that are Christian out there think about this. Okay, at this time of Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. For those that are religious uh, christian religious what happens next is the death of jesus christ. Okay, we have an individual who was so benevolent, so giving. He didn't just give of money, he didn't just give of his time, he didn't just give of what he physically had, he gave his life for all mankind.
Speaker 1:There's a tradition that I enjoy during the Christmas season and I caught on to this quite a number of years ago probably almost about 10 years ago, I started really doing this and it's the song you know the 12 Days of Christmas, right. So there's always this like discussion around what those 12 Days of Christmas actually entail and all the different elements. But there's some really key moments in there, or the 12 days they aren't leading up to Christmas Day. The 12 Days of Christmas are actually the days after Christmas, so you have Christmas Day and then it is finalized on the day called Epiphany, which is like the 6th of January, and in those days there are different feasts that go on, and some of them when I think about this and the, the ignorance that that we as a society tend to just kind of overlook, we don't, we don't, we don't even try to even walk that mile is the feast of the Holy Innocents, and that is the. What that one is talking about is the um, the death of millions of uh, unborn, uh babies before you know, basically the death of of unborn children. So they have that one. They have the holy martyrs, so that throughout history, the martyrs that were were killed for um, for different reasons, for, for religious reasons, basically, um, you know, in that element, each one of those days, I think the biggest thing for me, and the reason why I appreciate it, is that it gives me a chance to not just like, okay, okay, I get it, I get your. You know your point. Yeah, like it's really really super, duper important. Can we move on, cause it's really heavy and I don't like how weighty this is Actually. Yeah, I feel that way, but that's not the truth. That's not. That's not the truth that I carry for the last 10 years when it comes to Christmas.
Speaker 1:Christmas is the coming of a Messiah.
Speaker 1:For me, you know personally, and that Messiah, the birth of that Messiah, the celebration, the welcoming, the joining with angels, that this Messiah is born in a humble manger, in a pile of hay, around cattle, on the back of a cart, that you go like, you know, even the, even the picture, the thing that embodies what Christmas you know was was really based off of, is this left in want, you know, and, and, and then you know, like I, I pre, that that just makes it so that it like kind of takes apart some of the other elements of that into these feasts, these days of Epiphany or up to Epiphany of the 12 days, in order to just kind of continually posture myself.
Speaker 1:It's not a practice in Christian faith, it's traditionally a Roman Catholic St Ignatius is probably the one. That's the one I would say is where it comes from but but ultimately it's just a practice of your posture and and I don't want to say reverence, respect toward the things that would destroy mankind if we don't care for and that's, I think, the that, the truth, that what you're talking about here is the best way I can kind of you know, apply that personally and go like man. That's hard, it's hard to chew on, like I definitely we could probably teach a college course on the Christmas Carol, but at the same time, it's like man I don't want, like people are going to leave crying and it's like self-reflecting and like good going to leave crying and it's like self reflecting and like good if our society is the problem with this and I'm not going to be the guy that just says I'm going to be the guy that's going to say this our society is incapable of holding that kind of concern I disagree.
Speaker 2:of concern I disagree.
Speaker 1:I do not think, I believe humanity has it in them. Okay, our society and the way that it beats its rhythm I'm not saying that it can't be transformed. It can't have a wake-up call like Scrooge did. It can't have this, the book where it applies, these massive, really heady things that aren't about Christmas, it's about the human nature, you know and like. Those are values that are instilled in lots of principles around the world. So, you know, it's not Charles Dickens that's the origin of this, but he put it in such a tangible, chewable way that it's still steak and potatoes, it's still heavy to eat, but it's something that our nature as a society is commonly going to reject.
Speaker 2:What I want you to do. Our viewers out there, our listeners, this is so vital and important. You need to pass this on. This is not about channel growth or anything. This is about growth of humanity. I don't care if you share any other video that we do, but this one right here is so vitally important, talking about humanity and our necessity to be better. You need to be that Jacob Marley to your friends and family. Pass along the message. Pass along the message. Pass along this video. Pass along the book. It's. It's in the public domain. It is free to anyone to read. Pass along this message because without it, our society is doomed.
Speaker 2:Even right here, the Christian pastor who is saying as a society, it will be so difficult for people to accept these traits. On a macro level, it is important and vital that we all take these lessons this is why Scrooge was visited by these ghosts is to change him to be better. We all need that lesson and you need to be the one to pass that message along. That is my challenge to you this Christmas. That is my challenge to you this Christmas. Find people to send this message, to Read this for yourself. Adopt the changes that Scrooge did in his life into your own life and move forward, being that stronger, better person. We all have ways that we can change, and the more we adopt those changes, the more we as a society will become better, the more we will be able to accept each other, the more loving and caring we will be to each other. It is so vital and important. It is so vital and important. Don't let the weightiness of this detract you from the necessity of it. I'm done Sure.
Speaker 1:I'm done. I'm going to spend a couple minutes on yet to come. This is a long one, sorry, well, and I'm going to try to keep it short at this point, but I think, ultimately, the message that we, you know I think the emphasis was very much like you had stated that the ghost of Christmas present is probably the centerpiece of what the Christmas Carol is about, or a Christmas Carol is about, and, and that that's that's an important element. So I don't want to take away from it by going like we have to do this and we have to do this. So I'm kind of throwing out a lot of what we you know what, what's, what's on our outline. But but I do want to cause we had some conversation about the Christmas or the ghosts of Christmas yet to come, and I want to talk a little bit about that to the fact of saying, like a lot of times it says like you see, in the movies it's usually this robed, cloaked, you know, sickle holding death monster.
Speaker 1:That's there and the reality is it's not death. No, it is dark-cloaked, sickle-holding death monster. That's there and the reality is it's not death, it is a dark-cloaked individual. They just take that and translate it into death and they're like well, this is what it's going to be. And then it shows Scrooge. In the movies that I've seen, the renditions, it's always this lonely, dark. You know what? What you have done has amounted to literally nothing and you're dying alone at this point. And that's supposed to scare Scrooge into reality. And and now, all of a sudden change things. But that's not the point of the gross or the Christmas of you know ghost of yet to come.
Speaker 1:But anyway, that phrase, that thing, this cloaked figure that's there, reminds Scrooge that you know it's not, it's not to the death, but it's this bleak outcome of a future that you know when you look at the. It says doom like this will lead ultimately to that doom, but it's a very doom in want. And so when you are literally without anything, even even though you may be hoarding treasure, you are without anything. You know that that's a. That's a. That's an interesting perspective because, like, a lot of people go, you know, I want to be a millionaire. Why? Because then I can have all the things that I want. And you're like no, that's tremendous amount. There's a lot of people who make a lot of money and are completely alone, you know. And so it's the shift of perspective A lot of you know what ultimately our outline was was angled towards and, and, honestly, like this is to is stop looking inward, look outward, because the amount of of things, of of stuff that's out there is is overwhelming, and so often we don't even chalk it up to enough time to give it mental anything, you know, and so I don't have enough time.
Speaker 1:I'm busy doing this, this, this, and I might be taking care of other people, but I still don't have enough time. So, like I, I like I please don't confront me with that, because it's not something that you know what I mean. Like I'm just trying to kind of give it this idea, but but I think when we get to the point of saying like what, what does the future then look like if I continue to ignore where we are?
Speaker 2:yeah, and and I think it's more, a lot of people interpret this last section as scrooge is afraid of death. Therefore he changes his life. Yeah, and that is not the case at all. Death is inevitable. It will come for all of us, it's. It's not that he is suddenly thinking that if he's a nice person, he won't die. That's just completely incorrect.
Speaker 2:What he's learned through the first two visits, as well as through Marley, is he's remembered what it was like to have that emotion, to have that feeling. He's remembering his love for his sister. He's remembering his love for his family members. He's reminded how much Fred looks like his sister. There are a lot of these things that are pulling at his heartstrings and he's remembering.
Speaker 2:And so, in this final moment, he is brought to his death and he is seeing how lonely and empty it is and how there is no one there.
Speaker 2:No one has any feeling. And so he asks the ghost show me some human emotion, show me some feeling. And he's thinking that he's going to be shown someone who is feeling sad about this man's death. Now, at this point, he doesn't know that it's his own death. He suspects, but there's no proof that it's him, and so he's thinking he's going to be shown someone who's feeling sad for this man's death. But no, he's taken instead to see the emotion on the Cratchits about their loss of Tiny Tim. And that is the true depth of emotion at loss, loss is inevitable at some point. Now, obviously, he feels terrible for Tiny Tim because he was so young to be lost so young. That starts to what is what pulls at him and he starts to see this emotion, that caring and that love that again he'd never really seen, he'd never really been shown that. And he starts to feel that again through the first two visits that.
Speaker 2:And he starts to feel that again through the first two visits, and now to see that he has none of that, that there will be no one that mourns him, no emotion toward his loss. It's not the death, it's the fact that there is no emotion there. And so, after experiencing this deep emotion from the Cratchit family, he asks then to see emotion related to this other man whom he saw dead. And rather than seeing heartfelt emotion, what he sees instead is derision and hate and greed at his death and those kinds of things. He's realizing that the only emotions that he is inspiring are negative emotions. And that's when he realized this is the sum total of his actions in life have caused sorrow, have caused negativity, have caused all this bad that he never intended to do From the beginning.
Speaker 2:He intended to be like Fezziwig, he did not want to be like his father, and he realized in that moment that what he thought he was doing, what he thought he was growing to be able to turn to benevolence, never did. Yeah, that's the change. That's the change that scrooge saw is that all this hard work that he thought eventually he was going to be able to turn for good, he never did. And he got so caught up in the work of it that it never came to fruition, and that's what changed him, not the fact of death, it's the idea that he never evoked those positive emotions that he sought so much to do because he got so caught up, so lost in the effort.
Speaker 2:And so that's from that moment, that's when he asked can these things be changed? Can I refocus, reprioritize my life to benevolence, and can I change the way that people feel about me? Can I change the way that people that what happens to Tiny Tim? Can I change what's going on? Because he had this realization that hopefully you're getting right now is that I haven't been doing what I need to do and I need to focus more on others, right, because I'm so focused on getting there that I will never get there. And so he comes out of that and and becomes a greater man as anyone had ever known.
Speaker 1:I think it's interesting. You're like basically to kind of summarize the, the, the three ghosts, or, and how that. What do we, what do we capture from them? And the first one, I think is you know, with past, is the fact that you know we can learn from the things from our past. We can learn how to grow from those things, and that doesn't mean that they're successes and they're all successes, that's it. We learn from every element of our past. There's lots of really terrible experiences that I can think about in my past that I'm not grateful for having to go through them, but I have learned a lot because I did go through them and so it's a growth area now because of it and it doesn't't define me or I don't adopt that characteristic because of it, sometimes it does, and that's, you know, the correction that happens with Scrooge here, you know, I think.
Speaker 1:Then you look at the, the present, and, and really like the idea of embracing the present. It's hard because I think it's a matter of you know this, you know this idea of generosity, but that doesn't even really, you know, come close to what what we're talking about it is. It is a selflessness that is first, before everything else. It means that if you find somebody who needs a coat, give them your coat. You know why Because you may. You can go down the street and buy another one today. You know where that person might not be able to. Well, if this person needs a meal, give them a meal. I watched that happen just the other day walking or going down the street and some guy gets out of his car at a busy like exit of an area and hands this homeless guy a whole big old sack of fast food. It was awesome. I was like, yes, that's so super cool, but it's, it's the, it's the, the, the change of a perspective to look outward. And not just look outward, not just say I see you, but embracing that and and then I think that know.
Speaker 1:For the third ghost is, you know, it's this idea that you know we could look at when, when, when we get to our final moments, you know, are we celebrated because we finally gone or are we? Are we celebrated because of the things that we were intentional about in our life and the purpose that we, we, we, we pursued? And you know that encompasses, or that that encompasses, the generosity elements. It is again, it's still an outward perspective. Are we loving and valuing the, the love and value of, of of others, or are we? Are we loving and and valuing the, the treasure that we're hiding in our, in our own?
Speaker 2:well, and I think it's it's less about. Are we being, uh, cherished later? So in our death, are we being remembered for our charity? That that is still a very selfish activity. True, it is not about being honored. It is not about being remembered for being a charitable person. What it is is what emotions are people going to be sharing upon your death?
Speaker 2:It's not a look at how well am I going to be remembered? Are they going to make a statue out of me? It's. What emotions are people going to have? Are they going to be happy that I'm dead, ambivalent that I'm dead, or are they going to be sad that I'm dead? What is that emotion? And if it's anything other than a true depth of sorrow at your passing, then you're doing something wrong. Yeah, if people are ambivalent about your death, you're not living a truly human life, and so it's not about being celebrated, it's not being about being any of this. It is about what is the emotion, and that's what you need to think about when you look to the future. How are people going to feel when you're no longer there?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I think, you know, an interesting element of what Scrooge went through is this ability to make, make a different choice, like to see the perspective of what may had had good intentions initially, but but was just an unhealthy level of pursuing that that resulted in neglecting everything else around. And then the power of being able to choose something different, choose a different path, a different course. That takes a lot, honestly, and you know, I think, that this story is not something that's just, you know, a Christmas carol. It's, you're right, it revolves around Christmas, but, you know, because I think that during this time of year is the time that most people are, they seem to be, let's say that, okay, you and I may share different perspectives about the abilities of humanity, but they seem to be more generous, maybe not generous, but more, I guess, generous. They're more willing to give, but it's less about right now.
Speaker 1:It's not this oh, it's christmas season. I better buy, you know, oranges for all my neighbors and I better get you know those trays of cookies out. You're like, I mean, I don't do that every, every month, but but have the mindset like, if, what, if, if, if april comes around and there's nothing great in april than maybe if you're religious, there's Easter but then you still have Easter eggs. But the idea of this generosity, that's outwardly in its projection, it's something we lose, unless it's a particular season.
Speaker 2:What are you doing in May to honor the idea of giving? Yeah, what are you doing in august to honor the idea of giving, of being that person to give of yourself, yeah, all of yourself. And that's the thing is. You have to remember this throughout the year. Always remember it. It's, it's so, so, vitally important. Again, this is why, every year, I refresh this in my memory, my children's memory, because it is so important that we carry this on throughout our lives. Always remember this, every day, every moment of the year, not just at Christmas, not just at this time of year.
Speaker 1:I'm going to make my kids watch this in July and then they have to write me a paper. There you go. They'll be like they'll hate the 4th of July. Yeah, all right, guys. Well, you know, before we continue to go on about this heavy subject, we really hope that you guys have a joyful holiday season and a wonderful new year. And, you know, share some of the things maybe. Like if there's some reflection that you guys have done in seeing this episode that made you think of share some of those things. Like if there's some reflection that you guys have done in your in seeing this episode that made you think of share some of those things, share it to the comments section on on the video here. Um, and, and you know, maybe there's some, uh, there's some resolutions that really ring clear to this that you you feel like you'd want to do for the new year. But, uh, but I think what's what's more important than anything is, you know, considering that perspective of looking outward and seeing and doing something about it, rather than just kind of inwardly preserving.
Speaker 2:Anyway, time for Jokes with Joe All right, get a little bit light in this. No, this is a fitting dead joke for this week. Why are ghosts terrible liars? I don't know, because you can see right through them I was thinking, I was like translucent, all right guys we have reached the end of our show for today.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening, thanks for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe. Life's too short, so keep laughing and learning, and idiots have way more fun. Check your shoes.