Can you believe how close we are to Christmas and the start of a new year? It is that time of year when we are more apt to think of others and reflect on the past. We may think about our childhood, our family, or perhaps the road not traveled. As I think about these things I realize this is why I am drawn to holiday movies. They make me think. They cause me to reflect on the past and think about the future. All of the movies, whether it is one based on A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, or any holiday movie all seem to have an underlying theme; good is within us and letting the good shine through brings about positive results. In addition, we are able to think about how things could be better or worse and realize regardless of our station in life, we all have value.
Imagine for a minute you are George Bailey, from It’s a Wonderful Life. Your life is not going as planned and you are able to see what life would be like without you in it. Perhaps without you a pet would not have had a home, or a child never born. Perhaps you helped someone with a kind word or gesture, something you yourself never gave any thought to, yet it did have an impact on the person to which your kindness was bestowed. We cannot all impact the world in big ways, and really don’t the small ways count just as much, or sometimes more? On Friday when I am watching It’s a Wonderful Life I undoubtedly will find myself thinking about the ways I am important to the world, or at the very least a small portion of it. The moral of the story is, every person has value, do not underestimate your worth, regardless of where you see yourself at the moment. You matter, in the words of Clarence as written in the book inscription at the end of the movie “Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”