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The speed of joy is:

Patient.

I miss it.

Inspiring.

Dynamic.

Fruitful.

Welcome back to Best Advent Ever. It's been a beautiful journey. It's been an honor to make this journey with you and explore this concept of slowing down to the speed of joy. One of the things we talked about at the beginning was the faster you go, the less you see. You go fast enough, it just all becomes a blur. And sometimes our lives can become that blur.

I remember before I got married, people would say things like, "Oh, the day goes so quickly." And of course, when Meghan and I started having children, people would say, "Oh, it goes so quickly." And of course, our wedding day did go so quickly, even though I was trying to be intentional, still go so quickly. And children have grown so quickly. You've watched them grow up in these videos. And even though trying to be intentional, life does move very quickly. And that proves to us and demonstrates to us how very important slowing down to the speed of joy is. We can only fully experience each moment of life at the speed of joy.

We can only fully experience each moment of life at the speed of joy. The moment of life before us now is Christmas. We can only fully experience Christmas at the speed of joy. And so as we experience this Christmas season, let's slow down to the speed of joy. Let's focus on what's essential. Let's allow God to show us new things about ourselves, new things about the Christmas season, new things about the people we love. We can only fully experience each moment of life at the speed of joy. At any other speed, we miss out. When we rush anything, we don't get to fully experience the great and small moments that make up our lives.

Presence is a gift. It's a gift I'm trying to get better at giving. When we give someone our undivided attention and engage that person in a meaningful way, we demonstrate in a very practical sense that we love, value, and respect that person. When we don't, people feel unloved, undervalued, and disrespected. Our greatest ability is our availability. Slowing down to the speed of joy has taught me to make myself wholeheartedly available to people. It has taught me to resist distractions, set aside any preoccupations that flow through my mind, and make the effort to be intentionally present to people physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.

The speed of joy has taught me to be wholeheartedly present to whoever and whatever before me in the moment. Right now, it's this book. But I can hear little feet making their way down the hallway. This is when I was writing the book. Right now, it is this book. That's the thing that was right before me in this moment. It was the book. But I can hear little feet making their way down the hallway. So in about 10 seconds, it will be Ralph. They sound like Ralphie's footsteps.

It was Ralph. Being fully present is a beautiful gift to give someone. Wholeheartedness was the first lesson. The key to living wholeheartedly is quite simple. Just do one thing at a time. The second lesson is listen deeply. I wasn't a very good listener before I discovered the speed of joy. It's not something you can excel at if you are doing something else at the same time. Listening is something you can only do well if you do it wholeheartedly. Slowing down to the speed of joy taught me how to listen. I mean, really listen.

I discovered that if you really listen, you can hear a person smile on the phone. I learned that people sound different when they're anxious, and silence can be a scream for help. I found out that children almost never talk about what they really want to talk about first. Not knowing if this is the right time, they talk about something else to gauge your mood and to see if your body language reflects receptivity. I learned to listen in new ways. When my daughter has had a rough day, she hugs me a little tighter. Sometimes it's what a person doesn't say that is the most important piece of the conversation. Silence between two people can hold a myriad of messages and meanings. You can tell who is the saddest person in the room if you set your heart to it. And you can find a way, however small, to comfort that person.

Slowing down to the speed of joy taught me to listen, taught me to listen in so many ways. It taught me that a sigh is a language unto itself. My wife has a hundred different sighs, a happy sigh, a sad sigh, a grateful sigh, a sigh that reveals excitement, a frustrated sigh, a "Not this again," sigh. A hungry sigh, a hopeful sigh, a thoughtful sigh, an angry sigh, a curious sigh, a disappointed sigh, an exasperated sigh, a tired sigh, a "That was funny, but I'm not going to laugh," sigh. A contented sigh, a romantic sigh. "Thank God this day is over," sigh. A sigh of acceptance, a joyful sigh, a "you remembered," sigh, a wistful sigh. And like us all, a sigh of relief. So many sighs. The speed of joy is is a wise teacher that teaches us to listen. When we slow down, we see things we didn't see before. When we slow down, we hear things we didn't hear before. Slowing down to the speed of joy teaches us to listen deeply. And if you listen deeply, I think you will hear God inviting you to a new beginning, to a fresh start. We all need that from time to time.

Our God is a God of new beginnings and fresh starts. And our faith, our religion, is a religion of new beginnings and fresh starts. We all need one from time to time. And maybe this, right here, right now, is your time. The seasons come and go. And each year, nature provides a new springtime. And spring is a time of flourishing. It's a time of joy. It's a time of new life. It's a time of growth. Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy creates a new springtime in our lives. And it's a wonderful thing to experience.

There's a striking quote from A Moveable Feast, which is Ernest Hemingway's scattered memoir about his time in Paris as a struggling writer in the 1920s. He wrote, "When spring came, even the full spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest." The only thing that could spoil a day was people. And if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness, except for the very few people that were as good as spring itself. You know who those people are in your life? Those very few people who are as good as spring itself. And the more we slow down to the speed of joy, the more we become one of those very few people. For more and more people, the more we become that calm presence in people's lives.

I'm so excited for you. I'm excited for you because your springtime is just beginning. People often ask me if it's possible to change. It is. The human spirit has an astounding capacity for change. I have witnessed it many times. The most common question readers have asked over the past 30 years is, "Can people change?" But what they really want to know is, "Can I change?" You can. You can change. You can remake yourself. You can rebuild your life. How? In collaboration with God, one choice at a time. That's how you remake yourself. That's how you rebuild your life.

We talked to a couple of weeks ago about the idea that every revolution has a moment when it begins. This is your moment. Revolutions have a way of building toward a culminating moment. Your personal revolution has probably been building up for quite some time. It is my hope that this book, this idea, this concept of slowing down to the speed of joy has provided the culminating moment for your revolution. This is your time. You can change. You can collaborate with God. Remake yourself and rebuild your life. When? Today. Begin today. Right now. It's not too late. Isn't it time, once and for all, finally, and without reservation, to live a life that allows you to lay your head on your pillow at night, knowing that who you are and where you are and what you're doing makes sense? Isn't it time for that? To be able to lay your head on your pillow at night in the calm confidence, knowing that who you are and where you are and what you're doing makes sense to you. May not make sense to anybody else, that's okay. Makes sense to you. Between you and your God so you can lay your head on your pillow at night like that. And that is one of the greatest luxuries of this life.

There is no good reason to spend the rest of your life suffering the joyless urgency that busy inflicts upon us. And it's not too late. It's not too late to make a change. Each night before my children go to bed, I spend a few minutes with them one at a time, one-on-one, talking about the day, reading, praying, asking questions, answering questions. It is a magical time in my day. It reorients me. You see, children know the speed of joy. They have a way of effortlessly reminding us of what matters most. The clarity of a child can instantly rearrange our priorities. I had such an experience when my third son, Harry, was five years old. "What are you going to do tomorrow, Harry?" I asked him. He thought for a moment and then replied with pure delight. "I'm just going to wake up, have breakfast, and then I will decide." It was one of those piercing moments of clarity that children effortlessly supply. I smiled. "That sounds amazing, Harry." "Yep." He said and smiled back and continued, "Tomorrow night, I will tell you all about it." And off to bed, he scampered, joyfully. But his words lingered. Harry had figured it it out, and Hemingway's words came floating back. When spring came, even the fall spring, there were no problems, except where to be happiest. And if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. Later that night, I found myself reflecting on what my little boy had taught me. Days later, weeks later, his words were still resounding deep within me. They were an invitation to something more, something better, something different.

When was the last time you woke up, had breakfast, and only then decided what to do that day, I kept asking myself. It had been a while. In fact, I couldn't think of one. Since that night, I have endeavored to change that. I call them Harry Days. A Harry Day is a day when you wake up, have breakfast, and decide what will bring you the most joy. I wish you many Harry days. Merry Christmas.

On behalf of everyone here at Dynamic Catholic, we'd like to wish you and all those you love, peace and joy and calm of this Christmas Eve. God bless you, and thank you for joining us on this journey.

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

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Bye-bye. Have a great day.

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Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Simon, come sit.

I love you.

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See you next time. Bye.

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