In It's a Wonderful Life,
In the Saving and Loan Building in George's Dad's office,
There is a saying framed on the wall,
All that you can take with you is that which you've given away.
First of all,
It's a very profound statement.
It says that you're going to leave this earthly body someday and all that you have will no longer be yours.
No more money.
No more record collection.
No more stuff.
All that will truly remain is a legacy,
Which is what you've given away.
And as skeptical as I may be at times,
I love this idea that after death,
Spirits retain an awareness equal to the good we did for others.
That in the end,
That is who we are.
The good we've done for the world and for others or that which we've given away.
I love this quote because of the irony that it's on the wall of a bank manager.
The bank which has become many people's equivalent to the temple,
Tell you the truth that having a lot of money doesn't make you whole.
Giving it away does.
It's kind of like if Wendy's put up a sign sharing that McDonald's fries are better or Whole Foods can label their products with stickers saying that this is cheaper someplace else.
Or Taco Bell just putting up a big sign that says,
What are you thinking?
All that you can take with you is that which you've given away.
It's of course not about money,
But service,
Time,
Love,
Deed and thought.
And it's not just to others.
It's to the betterment of yourself,
To life itself,
To God herself.
The quote itself can be traced back to the Catholic teacher,
Brother Lawrence.
Brother Lawrence believed that God was not some far off being,
But at all times is much closer to us than we think.
Brother Lawrence talked about practicing the presence of God,
Which means be giving,
Be charitable,
Be loving,
Be humble.
And you will be closer with God as God is closer with you.
For God is that great good.
And to practice it not only brings us closer to him,
But to the truth about ourselves.
Brother Lawrence would say,
Let us think often that our only business in this life is to please God.
Perhaps all besides is but folly and vanity.
To many of us who've been taught incorrectly,
I believe,
That the purpose of life is to make something of yourself,
To be a somebody.
I don't believe that anymore.
And I say that as an individualist who believes strongly in always doing your best and staying committed to realizing your highest potential.
But I don't believe life is about making well for yourself.
It's about making something of life for others.
It's about living for something more than yourself,
A spirit bigger than yourself that humbles you in its presence and as a byproduct exalts you.
This is George Bailey's dilemma in It's a Wonderful Life.
He wanted to be a big somebody and missed out on all that he really accomplished,
On how wonderful he made life for others,
How very wonderful life really is.
Louisa May Alcott once said in her Little Women,
Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.
I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty,
Believe in them,
And try to follow where they lead.
The conservative columnist David Brooks,
Who strangely enough liberals seem to love and conservatives scoff at,
Once pointed out something pretty powerful I thought.
He said,
There's a core American debate between On the Road and It's a Wonderful Life.
On the Road suggests that happiness is to be found through freedom,
Wandering,
And autonomy.
It's a Wonderful Life suggests that happiness is found in the lifelong attachments that precede choice.
It suggests that restraints can actually be blessings because they lead to connections that are deeper than temporary self-interest.
The happiness research suggests that It's a Wonderful Life is correct and On the Road is an illusion.
It's not about what you have.
It's about what you've done.
It's not about how you appear.
It's about who you truly are.
It's a reminder that when it comes to giving,
Don't go trying to measure it in days past or in hopes for tomorrow.
Seize the day.
Brother Lawrence would say,
Think often on God.
By day,
By night,
In your business and even in your diversions.
He is always near you and with you.
Leave Him not alone.
I know it's hard to see and recognize God everywhere when there is such evil in the world.
So many misguided.
So many suffering.
So many causing and in despair.
The God I believe in does not make these things happen,
But the God I believe in is called forth in the midst of even these challenges.
