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You're awesome.

Go.

The speed of joy is:

Patient.

Amazing.

Inspiring.

Dynamic.

Fruitful.

Hi, I'm Matthew Kelly, and welcome back to Best Advent Ever. Slowing Down the Speed of Joy is an endless reservoir of wisdom. It just constantly teaches us new lessons. The Sabbath is an endless reservoir of new lessons. Today's lesson, we want so much, and we need so little. It's a powerful truth and one that most of us struggle to grasp. But few things will prevent you from slowing down to the speed of joy more than material possessions. Stuff weighs us down. It rents space in our minds. Acquiring things and maintaining our stuff both rob us of valuable leisure time. We live in a culture that is just acquiring and acquiring and acquiring, and we can order a day, be on our doorstep tomorrow. And this acquisition of material possessions is a serious spiritual obstacle. Few things will prevent you from slowing down the speed of joy more than material possessions. I started giving stuff away a few years ago when I wrote the generosity challenge, and I decided I'm going to give one thing away. Material thing, physical each day for a year. Because I had too much. When I was writing the generosity habit, I just decided I got too much stuff. And that was like three and a half years ago. I'm still giving one thing away each day, and I still have too much stuff. And the stuff, it weighs us down. The world is constantly screaming at us more and more and more. And God is constantly whispering to us enough. You are enough. You have enough. When we're in the mindset of the world more and more, one of the things that robs us of is gratitude. When we're chasing more and more and more, we tend not to be grateful. We tend to be chasing more, more, more. Gratitude is the virtue of rejoicing in what is. It is the quality of being thankful. It expresses appreciation for all that is good, true, and beautiful in our lives. Gratitude is a simple acknowledgement of reality. It is a form of wisdom. Gratitude is deeply rooted in humility. The grateful recognize that all is gift, our talents, experiences, relationships, opportunities, and the amazing world around us, all is gift. The enough mindset facilitates gratitude. Gratitude is the part that leads to contentment, and contentment is a soothing balm for the soul. A soothing balm for the soul. Does your soul need a soothing balm? Gratitude, contentment, soothing balm for the soul. We're constantly chasing more, more, more. Do we know what? Do we know why? Or have we just gotten caught up in the world and allowed the world to steal our peace? Living at the speed of joy helps us to recognize the right amount. There's a right amount. There's a right amount of anything. And slowing down the speed of joy helps us to recognize, well, I have the right amount of that. I have enough. Or I have too much. Or possibly you have too little. But there is a right amount in all things. And we need to discern what that right amount is. And to do that, we need reflection. We need daily prayer. We need Sabbath. The instrument inside us that calculates how much is enough is malfunctioning. It needs repairs. These repairs naturally occur through the consistent and disciplined practice of daily reflection and a leisurely observance of the Sabbath. The instrument inside, I don't even remember writing that. But anyway, the instrument inside us that calculates what is the right amount is malfunctioning. How do we repair daily reflection, leisurely Sabbath? By stepping back from life for a few minutes each day and then on Sundays for the Sabbath, stepping back from life, we see what is and we're able to rejoice in what is and praise God and thank God for what is. We're grateful for you. We'd like to gift you six free copies of Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy so that you can share them with your family and friends. Not just so you can share the book, but so you can share this concept, this principle. You'd be giving them much more than a book. You'd be giving them a new experience of life, a new perspective on life. God bless you. Have a great day. There is genius in Catholicism. So Be Bold and Be Catholic.

Thank you, Ambassadors. You are changing the world. See you tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day. Have a great day.

Bye-bye.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Come on.

Have a great day.

Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Simon, come sit.

I love you.

Have a great day.

Have a great day. Come sit.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

See you next time. Bye. Have a great day

What mindset are you bringing to the Sabbath? One obstacle to slowing down on Sundays that I've faced is applying an efficiency mindset to the Sabbath. On Sundays, I often find myself operating from the same mindset I have at work, trying to optimize my day and squeeze everything I can out of my free time instead of truly resting. I end up spending a lot of the day in a state of indecision and stress, and miss out on the rest that God wants me to experience. One habit that's helped me to start to reclaim my Sabbath is building a routine of carefree timelessness right after mass.

So instead of going right into efficiency mode, I've started a ritual of going to get coffee with my wife at a local coffee shop and then making us breakfast at home. It's a really simple change, but it helps me to maintain a spirit of rest and connection all throughout the day. Worshipping God at mass sets the tone, and then having a routine to follow that up helps me stay focused on what matters most. The fruit I've seen in my life has truly been amazing. I'm certainly not perfect at this yet, but I've gained a higher awareness of when I'm slipping into that efficiency mindset instead of resting.

It's also given me a greater appreciation for the way mass can settle my soul and how crucial it is to guard that peace once mass is over. More than anything, this simple shift has strengthened my relationship with my wife and provided much-needed space to connect with her without having an agenda or thinking about the next task I have to do. So let me ask you, what routine or ritual could you build into your schedule right after mass? It's just one simple way to guard your peace, foster connection, and start reclaiming your Sabbath.