1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,399 Speaker 1: The video you're about to see is a short video 2 00:00:02,439 --> 00:00:05,679 that I made four years ago on the kind of 3 00:00:05,799 --> 00:00:09,800 dance of decorating the Christmas tree. It's wild because I 4 00:00:09,839 --> 00:00:14,720 made this video the very first few weeks after I 5 00:00:14,839 --> 00:00:18,039 had moved into our new home after our house was 6 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,519 flooded in twenty nineteen, and so it was a particularly 7 00:00:21,519 --> 00:00:26,199 touching moment because we redecorated our Christmas tree in our 8 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,519 home again, which was a big deal for our family. 9 00:00:28,559 --> 00:00:34,520 Speaker 2: Every year we would do that. And so please enjoy. 10 00:00:44,679 --> 00:00:48,200 This is Jonathan fjel Welcome to the symbolic world. 11 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,159 Speaker 1: So the activity of decorating a Christmas tree is one 12 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,680 which most families will engage in during you know, the 13 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,719 up upcoming towards Christmas. You know, when you have young kids, 14 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:11,799 it's actually the most fun. Mom My kids are getting 15 00:01:11,799 --> 00:01:15,079 a little older and they're a little blase about decorating. 16 00:01:14,719 --> 00:01:15,359 Speaker 2: The Christmas tree. 17 00:01:15,359 --> 00:01:17,599 Speaker 1: But when your kids are you know, like six, seven, 18 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,200 eight around that age, it's it's a blast to decorate 19 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:25,319 the Christmas tree together. And it's also kind of shows 20 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,480 you how reality works, and you you see this kind 21 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,680 of balance that needs to come about between order and 22 00:01:34,079 --> 00:01:38,079 let's say heaven and earth between order and improvisation, between 23 00:01:38,079 --> 00:01:42,560 the regular and the irregular. And so I've already talked 24 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,840 about the symbolism of the Christmas tree per se. You 25 00:01:44,879 --> 00:01:47,000 can check that out if you're interested in it. Here 26 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,200 it's mostly about how the actual decorating of the tree, 27 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:52,799 and so especially if you do that as a family, 28 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,959 you really get that experience. And so you can imagine, 29 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,319 for example, because you've seen Christmas trees, you know, all 30 00:01:59,359 --> 00:02:02,519 the time, and you've seen beautiful Christmas trees, and you've 31 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:07,239 seen ugly Christmas trees, and what makes a Christmas tree 32 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:08,240 beautiful and what. 33 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,159 Speaker 2: Makes it off somehow? 34 00:02:10,719 --> 00:02:14,439 Speaker 1: And we've all had that experience of seeing a Christmas 35 00:02:14,439 --> 00:02:18,479 tree which is off, and often it's usually off because 36 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:23,039 it looks too chaotic, where all the ornaments don't fit together, 37 00:02:23,479 --> 00:02:27,879 all the ornaments are, there's too much space between the ornaments, 38 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,759 there's too much there's some places where they're too close together, 39 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,599 other places where there's too much space, where from one 40 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:36,439 side it looks really nice, but then when you kind 41 00:02:36,439 --> 00:02:38,759 of turn you see that it doesn't look very good 42 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,599 from the other side. And so that is obviously one 43 00:02:41,759 --> 00:02:45,639 version of what makes the Christmas tree not look so nice. 44 00:02:45,759 --> 00:02:49,479 There's also the possibility of a Christmas tree being too perfect, 45 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,879 you know, of everything being lined up perfectly and everything, 46 00:02:54,039 --> 00:02:55,680 you know, you can imagine that you can almost see 47 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,319 bands in it coming down of ornaments, you know, you 48 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,319 see that sometimes and stores they can push that too much. 49 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,719 But you definitely don't want something like that for your 50 00:03:04,759 --> 00:03:09,919 home Christmas tree because there is a lacking of homey feeling, 51 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:11,840 like you're lacking that sense of. 52 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 2: Comfort. 53 00:03:14,039 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: You could say that comes from a somewhat a a 54 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,840 giving in to idiosyncrasy, you know, And so you can imagine, 55 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,680 for example, a Christmas tree that only has just glass 56 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:28,599 balls and they're all perfect, and they all kind of 57 00:03:28,599 --> 00:03:31,800 come down, and you don't want that. So the Christmas 58 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:36,319 tree ends up being a balance between the different aspects 59 00:03:36,439 --> 00:03:39,680 of the you know, the very shiny glass ball ornament, 60 00:03:39,919 --> 00:03:42,520 but then also the ribbon which goes around the tree, 61 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:44,240 and the ribbon which goes around the tree. You know, 62 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,560 if it's too perfect, it won't look right. You have 63 00:03:46,639 --> 00:03:49,719 to find that balance, and the balance often happens in 64 00:03:49,759 --> 00:03:53,680 a very interesting way as you're actually doing it. And 65 00:03:53,759 --> 00:03:57,879 so when you start and you start putting ornaments in 66 00:03:57,919 --> 00:04:03,000 the tree, you start to create patterns, and the patterns 67 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,800 kind of reveal themselves as you're decorating it. You put 68 00:04:06,879 --> 00:04:09,120 up an ornament here, and then you realize that if 69 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,520 you have several ornaments that are the same, you don't 70 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,719 want the next ornament to be too close to that one, 71 00:04:13,719 --> 00:04:15,479 but you don't also want it to be too far. 72 00:04:15,879 --> 00:04:18,560 So you find a space that's kind of close enough, 73 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,439 far enough, not on the same line, but not too far, 74 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:25,040 and then you kind of create this pattern which is 75 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,240 which is orderly but also is organic at the same time. 76 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,920 Then you have another ornament that you come and you 77 00:04:32,959 --> 00:04:35,199 want to now add to that one that you had 78 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:35,920 put in before. 79 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:37,199 Speaker 2: You start to add the. 80 00:04:37,199 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: Ornament, and then you start to want to balance it 81 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,680 out with the ornament which is already there, So you 82 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,920 end up creating a kind of balancing act between what 83 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,319 is already there and what is added what is new. 84 00:04:48,399 --> 00:04:49,519 Speaker 2: You want it to fit in. 85 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: You don't want it to stand out so much that 86 00:04:51,879 --> 00:04:53,800 it calls attention to itself completely. 87 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:55,199 Speaker 2: You want the new. 88 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 1: Ornament that now you're adding to what's already there to 89 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,199 be in a harmonious hole with the others, but also 90 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,839 not completely vanished and still have a say, still have 91 00:05:04,959 --> 00:05:08,480 something which makes it, which makes you able to see it, 92 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,000 and so you put on the ornaments. And when you're 93 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,040 doing it together, this is when it becomes very fascinating 94 00:05:14,079 --> 00:05:19,000 because it also becomes an exercise in family unity, you know, 95 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:24,079 because people have a slightly different way of understanding how 96 00:05:24,399 --> 00:05:28,959 let's say balanced or how imbalanced, how orderly or how 97 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,240 improvisational the tree has to look, and also even the 98 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,360 level of attention that you're wanting to put into the tree. 99 00:05:37,399 --> 00:05:39,319 And so you'll have someone who will come in and 100 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:41,240 just put a few put the ornaments, no matter where 101 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,040 they are, and they think it's fine, like they think 102 00:05:43,079 --> 00:05:44,399 it's it's okay that way. 103 00:05:44,759 --> 00:05:47,959 Speaker 2: It's not. You know, it's good enough, you could say. 104 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: And then for someone else, you know, they might want 105 00:05:50,759 --> 00:05:53,800 to spend, you know, hours and hours fiddling with each 106 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,519 ornament in order to make it absolutely perfect. And when 107 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,079 you're dealing with several people, you also you have to 108 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,199 be careful. You have to find the same balance that's 109 00:06:03,199 --> 00:06:06,560 in the Christmas tree, you have to find among the 110 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,439 people that are decorating the tree as well, because if 111 00:06:09,439 --> 00:06:12,680 the person who wants too perfect a Christmas tree nitpicks 112 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,199 too much and keeps taking the ornaments that other people 113 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:19,120 are placing in the tree and replacing them. At some 114 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,600 point the friction is going to start to appear. And 115 00:06:22,639 --> 00:06:24,839 the same goes the other way. If the person who 116 00:06:24,879 --> 00:06:26,959 just wants to get it over with move onto something 117 00:06:26,959 --> 00:06:29,800 else just throws them in there and then just wants 118 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,680 to leave, they will also be they'll also prick the 119 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,399 person who cares about it more and wants the Christmas 120 00:06:36,439 --> 00:06:37,360 tree to be beautiful. 121 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:38,759 Speaker 2: And so what you end up. 122 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: Seeing is this dance between the different people where someone 123 00:06:43,199 --> 00:06:46,279 will put an ornament somewhere and then maybe someone else 124 00:06:46,319 --> 00:06:49,560 will have a small reaction which is like, maybe it 125 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,000 doesn't go there, and so you end up moving it 126 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,439 a little bit, and you know, maybe once in a while, 127 00:06:54,439 --> 00:06:56,800 when someone's not looking, you'll take the ornament that they 128 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,199 put and then you'll just change the place of where 129 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:00,279 it is, you know. 130 00:07:00,399 --> 00:07:02,759 Speaker 2: And that is really a really. 131 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: A representation of just how the world lays itself out, 132 00:07:06,439 --> 00:07:09,600 you know, because the patterns of the world have to 133 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:14,639 adapt themselves to the circumstance in which they're manifesting manifesting themselves, 134 00:07:14,639 --> 00:07:17,519 and so you know, whatever pattern it is, whether it's 135 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,160 a law, whether it's a you know, an aesthetic pattern, 136 00:07:21,279 --> 00:07:23,319 like you know, the building of a house. You want 137 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,000 to build a house a certain way, but you have 138 00:07:25,079 --> 00:07:27,600 to take into account, you know, the place where you are. 139 00:07:27,639 --> 00:07:30,079 You have to take into account the different aspects, whether 140 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,519 there's a tree there, whether the other houses what they 141 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:36,279 look like, and so people in a normal society, people 142 00:07:36,439 --> 00:07:41,040 end up creating this balance between you could say, order 143 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:47,879 and improvisation or order in particularity. That is what makes traditional cities, 144 00:07:47,879 --> 00:07:50,120 like an old medieval town, that's what makes them so 145 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,839 beautiful because they operate on a longer scale in the 146 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,480 same way that a good Christmas tree is decorated, which 147 00:07:58,519 --> 00:08:02,959 is proposition and then modification, you know, and then someone 148 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,040 will add another house, you know, related to the one 149 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,560 that's there. Then maybe even that first house at some 150 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,000 point will change, will be changed in order to kind 151 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,240 of fit or to adapt itself to to what is happening, 152 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,639 you know, in other places of this city. 153 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,519 Speaker 2: And so that is why the Christmas. 154 00:08:19,199 --> 00:08:23,399 Speaker 1: Tree remains a very nice ritual that you can practice 155 00:08:23,439 --> 00:08:26,160 as a family, that you can practice together with your kids. 156 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:27,439 Speaker 2: To kind of see. 157 00:08:27,959 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: You can almost guess what a family's culture is. If 158 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,600 you could watch them, probably not just almost. You definitely 159 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,399 can guess a culture's family's culture if you watch them 160 00:08:38,399 --> 00:08:42,720 decorated Christmas tree, both in terms of how they interact 161 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:46,120 while they're doing it and then ultimately the final result 162 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,399 at what it would look like. Will it look like 163 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,120 something that no one cares about? Will it look like 164 00:08:51,279 --> 00:08:54,879 something that is straight out of a magazine, so perfect 165 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,799 that it's almost doesn't feel like it should be in 166 00:08:57,879 --> 00:09:00,480 a in a home, you know, And then and all 167 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,320 the way in between that you'll find you'll find a 168 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,720 pattern of manifestations. So your Christmas tree could really be 169 00:09:07,799 --> 00:09:12,320 an image of your family and your family's capacity to 170 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,799 work together and to also be, let's say, a to 171 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:23,879 participate in the celebration of Christmas, and celebration happens that 172 00:09:23,919 --> 00:09:27,320 way as well. There's something about celebration which is both 173 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:30,919 a looking up towards the same goal, the same purpose, 174 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,039 the thing which unites us, but also the capacity to 175 00:09:34,159 --> 00:09:39,440 express some idiosyncrasy together as we're celebrating. And so it 176 00:09:39,519 --> 00:09:43,240 really is something like a dance, you know, this ebb 177 00:09:43,279 --> 00:09:48,000 and flow between the particularity of the relationship of the dancers, 178 00:09:48,279 --> 00:09:50,440 the music and the tempo and the beat which is 179 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:54,159 imposing a certain order, and in that magic is where 180 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,840 you find the world. And so I hope everybody you 181 00:09:57,919 --> 00:10:02,159 all had a merry Christmas. Christ is born, glorify him. 182 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,559 I wish you also a happy New Year. I'm looking 183 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,200 forward to twenty twenty one despite our fear of what's 184 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:09,919 on the horizon. 185 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:11,919 Speaker 2: So thanks and I'll talk to you very soon. 186 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,399 Speaker 3: Hello there, Well, this is Martin Shaw and I'm afraid 187 00:10:16,399 --> 00:10:20,159 whatever you had planned for January scrap it. I am 188 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,840 returning to Symbolic World gleefully with one of the great 189 00:10:23,879 --> 00:10:28,320 stories of our time, the Epic of Passable, the story 190 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,240 of the Holy Grail itself. Over five nights, I will 191 00:10:32,279 --> 00:10:35,840 be telling the tale. These will not be dry lectures 192 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:43,600 or PowerPoint presentations. This will be wild, old philosophical storytelling 193 00:10:43,759 --> 00:10:48,080 in its deepest dimensions. It is life changing stuff, this story. 194 00:10:49,039 --> 00:10:51,519 I've written a book about it, I've been studying it 195 00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:53,879 for twenty years. I've told it all over the world, 196 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,759 but I have not shared it with you. I've not 197 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,720 shared it with Symbolic World. So what else would you 198 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,559 want to do in the great wintering time but to 199 00:11:02,639 --> 00:11:05,840 sit at the feet of this wonderful story and let 200 00:11:05,919 --> 00:11:08,480 me be your guide. I'll see you there. 201 00:11:09,799 --> 00:11:12,639 Speaker 1: If you enjoy these videos and podcasts, please go to 202 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,360 the Symbolic world dot com website and see how you 203 00:11:15,399 --> 00:11:18,559 can support what we're doing. There are multiple subscriber tiers 204 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,519 with perks. There are apparel and books to purchase, So 205 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:23,720 go to the symbolic world dot com and thank you 206 00:11:24,039 --> 00:11:24,759 for your support.