My three favorite movies during the holiday season are “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” and “A Christmas Carol.” All three are classics; all three are inspirational; all three offer lessons we all can use to be better people.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” tells the story of a small-town businessman, George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) whose savings and loan bank comes up short of cash on Christmas eve, after a confused clerk loses the deposit. Faced with a surprise bank audit, and gripped by panic, George Bailey is struck by the thought that, as far as providing for his family, he is worth more dead than alive, due to a small life insurance policy.
Standing on a darkened bridge high above the freezing, roiling waters below, George’s guardian angel, Clarence, takes over, and proceeds to reveal to George how things might have been in Bedford Falls if he had never been born. As he returns home George is met by a reception of townspeople who have all chipped in and made up the $5,000 bank shortfall.
Every year my emotion-filled viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life” evokes feelings of joy and appreciation for all the blessings we enjoy as Americans. True, there continue to be poor people, sick people, homeless folks, the hungry and the mentally ill, all underscoring the fact that our abundance is not shared by every American.
We as citizens have to work on that. But America is the safest, most beautiful place on earth, and from day to day, we often lose appreciation of that. No one was born to be a failure; there is opportunity everywhere. No one is poor who has friends, and this is the time of year when we can look around and be thankful for all the people who make our life a joy.
“Miracle on 34th Street” represents one of those seasonal classics that continues to be relevant because of its timeless message of the power of believing. Vintage 1947, the film is set in Manhattan, as Macy’s has hired the perfect Santa for its Christmas battle with department store rival Gimble’s: his name is Kris Kringle!
Despite his popularity and kindness, Kringle’s boss (Maureen O’Hara) is skeptical, and her daughter, Susan (played by child star Natalie Wood), is taught to believe that Santa Clause is a myth. But when Kris is declared insane and put on trial, Susan and her mother begin to question their lack of faith, as it becomes clear that there is something very special and real about this particular “Santa.”
My inspiration in “Miracle on 34th Street” comes from the idea that when you believe in something worthwhile, it energizes your belief with personal imagination, and that there is such magic, power and genius in knowing that your dreams really can come true.
We so often seem bound and limited by thinking small, failing to let our true potential shine above all else. As an individual (and a golfer) do you really know what stupendous things you are capable of if you genuinely apply yourself?
Kringle is eventually validated and found to be sane by a clever lawyer (only in Hollywood). But in “Miracle” Susan found that having faith in something was fulfilling even when it seemed illogical. The lesson? Sometimes we have to simply trust in our own ability and strength, in the face of seemingly enormous odds.
My all-time favorite holiday favorite is Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Over the years there have been several movie versions of “Scrooge,” as well as hundreds of quality stage productions, and even a wonderful, animated film that made its debut in 2009. The very best, I think, is the 1995 film starring George C. Scott.
Everyone, of course, knows the classic tale: A mean and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, embittered and lonely by his singular pursuit of money, is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve, all summoned by his long-deceased former business partner Jacob Marley.
Marley seems intent on sparing Scrooge an eternity of wandering through the nether world burdened by the heavy chains he forged in life through failing to care enough about the more important business of helping mankind. Eventually surviving the long, troubling night commanded by the spirits, Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a new man. Recalling the three spirits, Scrooge muses, “They’ve done it all in one night,” amazed by his own personal, miraculous metamorphosis.
The message left to us by Dickens is all about transformation. Nearly all Dickens’ novels are permeated by themes dealing with the plight of the poorer classes, a plea for mercy for the downtrodden, and the quest of common folk to rise above. Indeed, “A Christmas Carol” is no different in that regard.
What is curious is the starkly unmitigated fantasy of sudden, personal transformation that emerges. Personality changes don’t really happen like that, although it’s fun to imagine a mean, surly, unlikeable individual amazingly seeing the light and taking on behavior that transforms him into a likeable, generous, mindful person.
In life we are sometimes challenged by the possibility of, or mostly, the urgent need for, major personal change. For most of us there is usually something important that happens – a precipitating event – which startles us into the realization of how useful it would be to change ourselves.
For me, that moment came 40 years ago (at age 44) when I sold my very successful retail business and decided to reinvent myself as a clinical and sport psychologist. Because of that, like Scrooge, I was truly surprised and pleased about the whole new world which opened up for me.
