It's a Wonderful Life

Over the holidays, for the first time, our family watched Frank Capra's wonderful Christmas classic movie, "It's a Wonderful Life".  What a film.

Jimmy Stewart played the lead role of George Bailey.  I felt that the theme of the film was how--if you are a person who makes choices with family, friends, and community in mind--it is easy to feel cheated.  It is easy to feel as if you never have control.

In the movie, George compromised all his life out of love.  He gave up college so that his brother could go instead.  He gave up travel to Europe for his brother and his community.  He gave up an idyllic honeymoon to prevent a collapse of the neighborhood bank.  When things got really bad, George was ready to commit suicide.  He felt that the proceeds from his life insurance would be worth more to his family than his own life.

The angel, Clarence, showed him how much his life was really worth.  Clarence showed him the positive impact of his choices on his brother, his family, and his community.  George came to realize that all the compromises he had made, all the sacrifices for the greater good, were still HIS choices.  He saw that, as he made these choices, he was in control.  He reflected on the life that he had been resenting.  And he realized that "It's a Wonderful Life."

This reminds me of something I described in a post in November.  I was talking about the feeling that we get when we have a family that it is never OUR time, that everything we do is for our families or for our work, that we've lost control.  Here's a link to that post:  http://embraceyourchangingself.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-is-it-my-time.html

In that post, I noted that it helps to make sure that we do a few things entirely for ourselves.  Not for family.  Not for community.  Not for work.  Just do a few things for ourselves.  If we do this, we're more likely to see that ALL the choices we make are in our control, that they ALL are what we want to do, even when they involve sacrifice for the family or the community.  If George Bailey had--at least once--indulged his passions and taken a trip to Europe, he might not have come so close to jumping off a bridge.