The Lens:
My oldest son came over last night to watch a holiday movie with us. We had already watched “It’s a Wonderful Life,” so I told my son he could pick from one of our other favorites. Holding up “A Christmas Carol,” I said, “I know no one ever wants to watch this one but I’ll throw it out there.”
I have the 1951 Alastair Sim version. I usually end up watching it by myself. Quite surprisingly, before I got to the other movies, my son says, “I could watch that one.” After expressing my dismay, he said the movie is growing on him now that he is older and it doesn’t seem so scary.
On my “like” meter between one and 10, with 10 being love, I am at a “10” for this one. A great story about reclamation. There may only be one flaw to the movie – that Scrooge’s heartless, miserly ways provided him the wherewithal to become a great benefactor of the town.
In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey receives the gift of seeing the purpose of his life. He sees how the past would have unfolded without him.
In “A Christmas Carol,” Ebenezer Scrooge sees his life past and present, and what the future looks like upon his death. In both stories, a divine intervention takes place. In each case, it is when the protagonist sees the world without himself (whether past or future), that he is transformed.
The Refraction:
While I like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” it has some big flaws, especially in terms of transformation. What is truly compelling about “A Christmas Carol” is that we see how Scrooge becomes a hardened mean man. We can see how the painful events in his life shaped him. (The movie adds a lot of detail that is not in the book.)
We are almost sympathetic to this young man who is rejected by his father who blames him for something for which he could not control. And, then, how a similar event took the only person he felt loved him.
But, then we see the cruelty he metes out on his fellow man, and our sympathies wane.
While both George Bailey and Scrooge remember the events of their lives, George couldn’t possibly have understood his past without divine intervention.
Scrooge, on the other hand, could. He didn’t need the spirits to show him the way. It was all there plain as day. Scrooge knew the events of his life. He remembers them all too clearly as the spirits take him from shadow to shadow. So why did Scrooge need the spirits to be reformed?
In my mind, my answer to this question is: reflection. Have you ever looked up the definition of “reflection?” I just did. Merriam-Webster is my go-to dictionary. There are a lot of meanings to the word.
Here is one that explains my reasoning: “something produced by reflecting, such as an effect produced by an influence.” In this case, reflection can be thought of as hindsight. Hindsight is 20-20, so they say. But, that only works if you choose to look.
Sometimes looking is a really hard thing to do. First, there has to be a motivation to do so. And, why would you be motivated to revisit memories that caused you great pain?
That motivation often comes in troubled relationships, or our own dissatisfaction with the direction of our life. Scrooge had no motivation. He had no friends or family. He seemed accepting of, though maybe not content with, his life. Hence, the spirits.
We don’t get angels or spirits to show us the way. We have to figure it out for ourselves. That, often, isn’t easy. Add to that the stigma so many feel when they can’t do it alone and need to seek outside help, the obstacles may seem insurmountable.
It was after the birth of my first child three months after my dad died that I had my moment of truth. There was something about these two events happening concurrently that spurred my reflection.
With the help of a book given to me by one of my sisters, I started my process of reflection. To say it wasn’t easy is an understatement. There we a lot of tears. Seeing my distress, my husband would occasionally ask me why don’t I just stop if this causes so much upset.
But, I wanted to change. And, by now, I was in knee deep. To turn back would be a waste of the time and energy already invested.
Today, my husband read me a quote from the San Francisco Chronicle. It was from an article by Henry Schulman, a longtime Giants sportswriter who was retiring. In it, he says: “Before my paid 13-year doctoral education with Professor Bruce Bochy, I studied under Dusty Baker, who said something a few days after he and the Giants parted in 2002 that seemed profound. Dusty said it’s good for people to reinvent themselves every 10 years or so.” (“Farewell from the Giants Writer” 12/13/20)
While I agree it is profound, I am not sure I completely agree with the sentiment. Maybe rather than reinventing ourselves every 10 years, we should embark upon a deep reflection: Where have we been? How is our past affecting our today? How does the way we think and act impact others? How can we move forward as a better person?
I think the idea of reflection is two-fold. First, not let ourselves become stale. Seek new perspectives. See other points of view. Second, to live our lives with intention. Instead of letting life lead us, take charge of who we are.
Difficult, maybe. Impossible, no.