
Everyone who knows me knows why I love the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." I have seen this movie so many times over the years, I've seriously lost count.
I could spend hours talking about why this movie gets me every single year. I cry at the same parts. When George is in the bar after he realizes he is in trouble and asks for God to "show him the way...". Been there. The moment he realizes he wants his life back and he tells God "I want to live again...". Been there. But the part that always gets me is when he gets married to the love of his life, Mary, and Mary leaves the Building and Loan while George is frantically trying to keep it open after a run on the bank . She goes to 320 Sycamore - The old Granville House - to prepare a "honeymoon", complete with all the places and music that George dreamed of experiencing. They had plans to travel somewhere else, but used the money to keep the Building and Loan open and help his customers stay financially afloat.
Mary says to George after he embraces her:: "Remember the night I threw the rock into this old house? This is what I wished for." When the police officer and cab driver start singing an accapella version of "I Love You Truly" right before Mary says that, it's a waterfall. Because I realize how little I've ever asked from anyone, and how happy and fulfilled I feel when I am completely loved and love back the same way. Not because someone is loaded with cash and things; not because someone bought me a beautiful 14 carat ring; but because the care and understanding and acceptance is so thick with richness, that I could never, even if we lived in a one room shack, feel poor. That's how I feel with my husband.
But Zuzu's Petals. I realized after watching this movie last week why that moment is so poignant.
George felt he lost everything before the angel Clarence made it so had never been born. He had no money, the house he lived in was falling apart, and now that $8,000 was missing from the Building and Loan, he was in a lot of legal trouble. He felt like a burden and wanted to end that burden by ending his life.
After realizing the positive impact that he truly made on so many people, and also knowing that he would never see his family again, he begs to be the George Bailey with nothing, realizing that what he believed was nothing, was more than he could ever imagine.
The angel Clarence grants George's request to live again, and a police officer approaches George and asks him if he is okay. He then tells George his lip is bleeding. It was bleeding before Clarence made it so he wasn't born again, but it stopped during that whole time frame. When he realized his mouth was bleeding, he became ecstatic and realized he was back to living.
Now he could have said, "Where is my car?" Or "Do I still have a job?" Or he could have focused on stuff and things and money and status and "me, me, me" or "I, I, I." He could have focused on competition and trying to figure out how much time he lost in the business because of the time he spent trying to figure his life out. He could have also thought about inflicting harm on the person who actually stole his $8,000.
But the very first thing he asked for....the first thing that he wanted to feel that was real was Zuzu's Petals. Those little red thin pieces of a rose that his young daughter held right before he wished he had never been born. 2 rose petals became the most valuable thing to George Bailey.
When my son was in his car accident in 2019, it was such a devastating experience, but so eye opening for me. My son was the only one who wasn't seriously injured, but it could have been so much worse for him. 2 months after my son's accident, he and I were having dinner together and I flipped my phone over and for 2 and a half hours, all I did was listen and talk and laugh to my son. After our dinner, I thought about the moments I was too busy to pay attention. I thought about the times I checked emails and voicemails while I was with him and how those moments could have been taken from me in a second.
Zuzu's Petals are the most valuable things in life that all of us should focus on. Jobs come and go. Money is not something we can take with us. But those moments last forever. I hope when you find your petals, it brings the same smile to your face that it brought to George's when he realized they were real.
Let's all try to bring a little Zuzu's Petals to our own lives and share the joy with each other as much as possible. Most importantly, if Zuzu's Petals are all you have, make it enough and be grateful. Don't ever let anyone else take away their value. And realize that they are more than enough to make you realize that you did in fact have a wonderful life.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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