Kay:
Hey there Questers, and welcome back! This is another episode of the Mentorship Quest and it’s Monday, November 2nd. This is Episode 216 here, and it is Día de los Muertos – AKA: the Day of the Dead.
Shi:
Which means we have an appropriate quote for you, from the Disney movie, Coco, and it is from the character Hector who tells us, “Our memories, they have to be passed down by those who knew us in life, in the stories they tell about us.”
Kay:
We love the movie Coco! I feel like it was just yesterday I was in the theater, super pregnant with my daughter Violet, bawling my eyes out to various parts of the movie.
Shi:
Well, honorable mention here, Poco Loco, one of the best songs.
Kay:
Yeah, one of my favorite Disney songs, period.
Shi:
Yeah. SO good. So fun, and it’s just a ball to sing and dance to. But this whole movie is visually very pleasing, and the message is really good. The story takes you for a ride and you really get a peek behind the curtain into that Mexican culture and what better day than the Día de los Muertos to talk about this movie and to talk about the legacies that we leave when we pass on.
Kay:
Well, the whole concept of the Day of the Dead is that people will put up pictures and things that remind them of those that have passed onto an alter that they call an ofrenda, and you put up the picture or the item onto the ofrenda, you light a candle, you say a prayer, you remember, you talk about the people who have died and it’s about this time to celebrate others and to celebrate the ones that you have lost. But it’s also to carry on the legacy and the love that they left behind. So you’re talking about the things they did, the way they impacted the family, the way they impacted you, and so many of us know that we’re going to have memories passed down to those who knew us, but maybe if we put a little intentionality behind that, what gets set around the ofrenda may be better than we could imagine.
Shi:
Well, I think when we think about legacy, we often think about the building with our name on it, the endowment that we want to leave our children per se, but realizing that the legacy being expressed in the stories that people say is that primary vehicle of memory and of legacy helps us remember that it’s the human side of us and the connection piece that will really leave the longest impact on generations as they unfold rather than perhaps the building with the name on it.
Kay:
Exactly. So how do we get intentional about leaving these legacies of love, so that those stories that people tell about us are the stories that they like? I think, Shila, you’ll know who the teacher is, but who is it that talks about the rocking chair?
Shi:
Well, I think that Wayne Dyer talks about the rocking chair test. I think that Tony Robbins talks about the rocking chair test. And they say that sometimes in your life if you’re afraid to take a chance or you’re not sure, to put yourself in that chair at the end of your life on your porch and think, “How am I going to remember my decision around this, my behavior around this, my ultimate outcome around this?” and that can help direct you so that you are reflecting on your life from that future rocking chair in a way that others will remember and remind themselves of you as well.
Kay:
Now, this message on Día de los Muertos is a little bit two fold. The first fold is that – if you have loved ones out there that have passed – take this time to maybe give a remembrance of them and love on the things that they positively impacted in your life. And this second fold is to get a little bit intentional about what might be those things that – if your family was around your ofrenda – what are the stories that you would be wanting them to tell? Oftentimes it’s easy to think about what are the lessons we’re going to learn from others, but I like that different angle here too.
Shi:
Yeah! I think it’s a good one. And I think it brings us back to that human element that we were just talking about. And in the movie Coco, we get a lot of those human feels and the stories that are told and sometimes the stories that get passed down aren’t always the truth, but it really is in that perceiver and receiver. And so, in choosing the ways in which we live our lives, we have a lot of direction, control, and influence over how that story gets told, but once we die, we don’t. So be in charge of it now while you’ve got the time, so that you can honor that memory and intentionally work towards one that you’re proud to leave behind!
Kay:
Just a reminder, today’s quote was said by Hector from the Disney Pixar movie, Coco, and he says, “Our memories, they have to be passed down by those who knew us in life, in the stories they tell about us.”
Shi:
All right – you already know it’s a Day of the Dead quest!…Come on, that should be obvious ;)! And today your quest is to conjure up a fond memory of a family member who has passed away and honor their memory by sharing it with another person. So we really want you embracing the tradition of Día de los Muertos today. We want you to conjure a fond memory of a family member who has passed and honor that memory by sharing it with another. Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
