It's a Wonderful Life...

Everyone knows that Frank Capra's film about a man on the brink of losing everything discovers just how blessed he truly is gets played a lot this time of year. For many, it's a yearly tradition. Last night, I got to watch this beloved classic on the big screen. Yes, for a couple cans of food to be donated to one of the local food banks, a local indie theatre opened its doors and showed the original black and white version of the film.

I got to see it with some good friends, and, what's more, a person who had never before seen the film. I cannot decide whether the show in the seat next to me was better than the one on the screen or not! But as this film always does, it found me contemplating the parallels between George Bailey's life and the real world.

This last year has not been the easiest for a lot of people. Think about it: The economy stinks. Jobs are scarce. Our political structure is a wasteland of greed. We cannot care for our own. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. All the carefully laid plans of generations past are falling to pieces around us while we sit, mouths agape, fearing to do anything to upset the proverbial apple cart, to stunned to move. In scope, our society is sitting on the bridge with George Bailey, contemplating the depths of the icy waters below, and thinking somehow that we might be worth more dead than alive. It's easy to get discouraged.

It hits us all in different ways. The man who taught me to love the written word, for example, has found that he now suffers from writer's block. Several friends are trying to salvage themselves from broken marriages/engagements/relationships. Some are coping with additional pressures in the home - elderly relatives needing assistance, young children chronically ill, a never-ending supply of bills and a limited supply of cash. There are a myriad of ways in which we all experience these trials, these difficulties - and an equal number of ways in which we can deal with them.

But like George Bailey, sometimes we all need a slap in the face to help us see that even through our problems seem insurmountable to us, they are as nothing in the grand scope of our lives, for they are what make us stronger, wiser, better people. Look around, and count all the people NOT smiling this Christmas. In the malls, the plazas, in the churches and schools, in the bars and restaurants - each one of them is a person you can connect with. So busy, they're forgetting the simple joy of being alive. They need a Clarence, someone to jump into the frigid waters to wake them from their reverie, and to discover that their life is still wonderful. Can you be that angel? Even if it's a word of encouragement, an unexpected compliment, holding a door for someone, bagging their groceries as you finish yours, helping them load their car, or holding a Christmas tree so they can see it, or cracking a joke or two while standing in a check-out lane - the choice is yours to connect with these people or not.

What difference will your choice make? You might just keep George Bailey on that bridge. You never know until you try.

As for me, I will say only this: If you're reading this, you probably know me. If you know me, then know that because of you, inn some small (or large) way, you have helped make my life wonderful. Thank you.

Merry Christmas, and may you find Zu-Zu's petals in your own pocket.

Thanks for reading.

The Fat Kid