It’s a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life

“You see George, you’ve really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?” – Clarence

Strange, isn’t it? Each person’s life touches so many other lives.

What is your favorite holiday movie?  Each year, at our house, we celebrate the countdown to Christmas with a selection of some of our favorite movies: Home Alone, The Santa Clause, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Christmas Story, Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas and many more.  Whatever your list may be, I suspect many of us would also list “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a holiday classic.  You might be surprised to know it was a spectacular flop and very well might have vanished from history, if it hadn’t been for a mistake. That’s right, a mistake. Let me tell you about it…

Philip Van Doren Stern was unable to find a publisher for his 4,100 word short story, “The Greatest Gift.”   He eventually privately published the story in the form of a Christmas Card booklet that he mailed to friends and family. Producer David Hepstead happened to receive one of these and decided to purchase the rights to make it into a film.  Frank Capra was selected to direct the film starring James Stewart.  It opened in 1947 to extremely poor performance.  It resulted in a bankrupting loss of $525k for RKO Radio Pictures. Paramount Pictures purchased rights to the film temporarily and through a sequence of other sales, it landed a new home with Republic Pictures.  This is where the crucial mistake happened. 

The U.S. copyright protection law act of 1909 required that copyright holders file renewal notices with the Copyright office after 28 years from publication.  Republic Pictures failed to file for this renewal.  The film lapsed into the public domain in 1974, meaning anyone could show the film without permission or royalties.  As a result, television stations, networks and distribution groups looking for low cost ways to program holiday content, picked up the movie and begin airing it at all hours and in all markets, often times even in back-to-back showings.  Over the next 20 years, this beloved story found its way into the hearts and minds of so many who would have never seen it.  It surged to become one of the greatest “holiday classics” of all time, all because of a clerical error not to renew the copyright.

It’s a Wonderful Life tells a great tale of how we all make a difference.  In the story, Clarence gives George Bailey a gift to see what the world would be like without him.  In that revelation, George and the audience discover the incredible impact that one person has on others and on history.  Every person matters.  We are all of infinite worth and are irreplaceable parts of our human story.  We imperceptibly touch lives around us, profoundly affecting the performance of our human symphony.  We may never know all the lives we touch or events we change, but it is there.  Every encounter, each friendship, every word, each choice and every actions radiate from our lives as a force of change.  They are like ripples of gravity invisibly pushing and pulling us together and weaving the sparks of life into the beautiful tapestry of our human story.

I know I say this often, but I can’t emphasize this enough.  You matter!  As the protagonist of your own story, you are part of a much bigger epic and you make a difference. Every role, every part is significant. As we go through this holiday season in the 2020 pandemic way, continue to play the part you were born to play.  Be the best you, you can be!   You have a wonderful life.  Enjoy it, celebrate it and use it to continue to touch other lives. 

I wish you all, a wonderful and blessed holiday season!

Reference: Library of Congress https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2017/12/its-a-wonderful-life/

Love, Joy and Peace

Love, Joy, Peace

The decorations are up!  The lights are on and the trees are trimmed.  We are ready for the holidays!  As the shadows of darkness grow long in the shortening days, I’m reminded of the importance of light.  As is our custom, we hang lights on the house literally moments after the last Halloween trick-or-treaters leave.  Our human family, all over the world lights candles, adorns their houses and trees with lights.  It’s a beautiful time of the year to stir the embers of joy and share the warmth of hope with our fellow human travelers.

Speaking of sharing, I love sending greeting cards.  It has become one of our family traditions.  I know it seems old fashioned and tedious, but there is something magical about going through the list of family and friends. You get a chance to stop and think about each person as you address, stamp and stuff each envelope.  Fond memories, care and concern arises with each note sent.  We normally select a generic holiday greeting, but in this crazy pandemic and challenging time, I stopped to think about the best, most appropriate message we could wish to everyone this year.  I landed on a three part wish that I think fits our time: love, joy and peace.

Love.  We have symbols, songs and slogans about love.  It often gets described as a feeling or a desire.  But at its core, true love is a choice and an action.  It is an act of selflessness, consideration and giving.  In this season, we unwire our selfish tendencies and focus on others.  We give of our time, our treasures and our talents to benefit someone other than ourselves.  That is love.  As we think about our freedoms, privileges and blessings, think about it for others too.  Have empathy: understand each other.  Humility: encourage others.  Charity: care for one another over your own comfort or convenience.  Yes, in a pandemic, love even means wearing masks to protect others not just ourselves.  We can choose to love, to be the best that we as humans can be.  This time of the year, the world becomes a bit brighter as hearts and minds turn toward love and giving.  As the song by Jackie DeShannon, says, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love, It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.”  I wish you love! 

Joy.  Like love, joy is often described as a feeling.  It is often explained as the state of having cheer or vibrant happiness.  But that would sell it short. True joy is a purposeful decision and attitude.  Even in difficult times, you can feel joy.  Darkness, loss and pain can rob us of happiness.  But even in those moments of sadness, we can still choose to have joy.  Joy is living in the moment, combating the darkness and choosing to put on the mantle of hope.  It is our mind and heart choosing to be above the circumstances.  Joy chooses light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair.  I wish you joy!

Peace.  With the chaos, conflicts and challenges we have seen in 2020, there is an increasing need for peace.  It is a unique and rare gem.  But we can experience it, wield it and promote it.  It is a gift we can give that always gives back.  In a world of polarized views and tribal separations, peacemakers are needed now more than ever.  Peace shines in unity over conflict, collaboration over competition, and civility over combat.  Peace is born of love, embracing our differences while respecting each other.  It brings a calm to raging seas and graces us with wisdom that there is more that unites us than divides us.  I wish you peace!

I wish you all love, joy and peace this season and always!