It's A Wonderful Life

Have you ever had one of those moments where you stop to let everything in because what you have watched/read/experienced will surely change your life? That moment where you have to breathe and cry all the beauty you’ve just watched out because it’s so overwhelming?

I have just watched It’s A Wonderful Life. I have been meaning to watch this movie although it’s still black and white and really old because it has been mentioned in almost every beautiful story I love From Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which, by the way, is another beautiful book that made me cry and rethink things and appreciate the beauty of life) to One Tree Hill (which is one of my most favorite television series ever because beauty and perfection). And they weren’t wrong in mentioning the movie.

The story is about a guy named George Bailey, a man who had touched many people’s lives without knowing it. When he was young, he saved his little brother’s, Harry Bailey’s, life. His brother was drowning in frozen water when he swam and saved him, which caused damage in his left ear. He worked with a boss who was planning on poisoning a boy because his son just dies but because of George, he was stopped from committing such sin. George grew up to be a man who loved adventure. He was not supposed to go to college; he was supposed to go travel the world. But his father just died of stroke and he had to save their business, a loaning bank, because if he did not the bank would just go to Mr. Porter’s hands and Mr. Porter doesn’t care about the lives of his townspeople. All he cared about is money. And so George decided to stay and give up his trip to Europe and instead of studying, he gave Harry his money. Harry went to college.

After some time, George married Mary. They didn’t live a luxurious life because George cannot leave the business. They had four kids and lived simply.  Harry became world-known for being a general that saved the world. And came the real trouble. George’s uncle, who was his business partner, lost the 8,000 which the people loaned to them. The truth is that Mr. Porter got the money but he did not say it. He called on the police when George begged him to help them. George’s daughter was sick. He foul-mouthed a teacher. The teacher’s husband was mad. His life was in ruins. He wanted to die.

He was about to jump a bridge when somebody fell down. Somebody whose name was Clarence and who happens to be an angel. Clarence claimed that he was sent on a mission to stop George from killing himself and by asking for help, he saved George. George saved somebody from drowning. Again. And now Clarence the angel is here to save him from drowning.

Clarence showed George what the world would be like if he were not born. Mary didn’t marry and became a librarian. His mother turned their house to a boarding house. Harry died when he was 8. Bedford falls became Porterville. Mr. Coward went to jail. Everything changed. Every little thing. All because George was not born.

He wished his life back. He got it. He went home smiling and very happy, greeting everybody on his way home. He got home seeing police and the bank inspector and even hugged them. He hugged his kids. He hugged Mary. Then it turned out that the whole town was willing to share a little amount of their money to help George. He was not alone. He had everybody, he had his friends and family, with him.

No man who has friends is a failure, the angel said. And indeed, life is too beautiful and too precious to just simply throw away when we are in pain. We matter in this world. We are important. No matter how petty we think of ourselves, we mean more to this world than we could comprehend.

I think everybody should watch this movie because it’s just achingly beautiful and words are not even enough to express my how I feel at this very moment. Because the truth is this: we all live a wonderful life.