Marvelous dreams have excited our hearts for years, but they are sometimes put off by the practical pleads of others in dire circumstances. We lend our money, our talents, our skills, our time to assist others. We believe in people and causes that will allow others to grow and be all they can be. Then a tsunamic difficulty strikes our own lives. We have no control and are utterly alone. In this dark space, we realize that we have few or none of the dreams that we had anticipated so passionately for ourselves. As we spiral downward in an abyss of self-pity, anger, and hopelessness, someone shows up and by acts, words and listening helps us to see that the dream we did bring to pass for others has constructed wholesome communities and radically changed what might have been shattered lives. We were the catalyst of transformation for many. Those we helped, turn around and save us from our looming catastrophe that endangers our lives. We embrace and dance with George Bailey in the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Perhaps making money has been the most important focus of life. If we have known poverty earlier in life, we do whatever is necessary to never experience poverty again. We give value to almost anything if a profit is attached, or our social circles are others who can increase our financial bottom line. Anyone near us who is not part of our money-making chain is of no consequence. Then a near-death experience crashes into our lives, and there is no power in money to snatch us from death’s icy grip. As the grim reaper appears through a diagnosis of illness or great age, we review our lives and see that our fiscal focus has made us scorn all relationships beyond those attached to money. We realize that our death will leave nothing of consequence that speaks to our time on earth. Ebenezer Scrooge in Christmas Carol (a carol is a song of joy) gapes at the waste he made of his life devoted to the pursuit of money. He sees that wealth is given to make us happy as we make life more fruitful for others.
We function as a mentor or advisor and may discover that our best endeavors are being siphoned from us and presented as the work of our protégés. We are incredulous that the thefts happened because in time we would have given away the knowledge to our mentees. We, mentors or scholars, become discouraged and stop thinking creatively and critically; we engage in tedious, repetitive labor that inspires no one. We toss away our mantra, “Everything is possible”. We live in dust-laden inactivity and spider web-draped brain function. Then out of our linage surfaces a child who is not rebuffed by our heart-sick problem and bitter rudeness. Thirty years have passed since an apprentice stole his treasured blueprints for toys and a beautiful toy shop turns into a dilapidated pawnshop where Jeronicus Jangle merely fixes broken clocks and other small objects. Then his granddaughter visits for a few weeks, and he and his world are made vibrant again. In Jingles and Jangles: A Christmas Journey, we see a self-renewal through the power of belief.
Negative and positive elements are integral to life. Why drown in the former? We will never fully know the positive affects we have on people; we can only know that we tried to make a difference. Our value lies in our efforts to enhance the lives of others. In our bleakest seasons, persons will be present to help us to see our worth.
Reflections
View these movies: It’s a Wonderful life
A Christmas Carol
Jingles and Jangles
How does each title explain the movie?
Who are the agents of change that have shaped your life for the better?
Dorothy Watson Tatem, D.Min., ACC
Senior Associate
Next Step Associates, LLC
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President
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