Christmas Movie Series #3 “It Really Is a Wonderful Life!”

This is it, my final blog for 2015. I want to thank my son Cody for guest blogging for me the past two weeks. I hope you have enjoyed his posts. I want to continue with the Christmas movie theme and close out the season and the year with my thoughts on my favorite Christmas movie. It’s A Wonderful Life is my favorite movie of all-time, and I have watched it many times throughout my lifetime. I am sure that all of you have probably seen this movie multiple times as well as it is shown numerous times on TV throughout the holiday season . If you have not seen this movie, then you are missing a real treat, and I highly recommend you watch it as soon as possible. They just don’t make movies like this one anymore!

The movie revolves around the life of George Bailey, an ambitious young man, full of big dreams and visions for his future. Throughout the movie, time after time his dream is put on hold as he chooses to do the right thing with the circumstances that have been presented to him. There are so many wonderful life lessons that can learned from watching this movie. As I watched again this year, probably for the 50th time, with my family on Christmas Eve, I observed two things that I had never noticed before. In one scene, in the middle of the movie, I saw a framed quote on the wall of George Bailey’s office. This quote “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away”  was hanging on the wall underneath a picture of George’s late father.

This scene in the movie was when a run on the bank was about to take place. The customers of the savings and loan had just crowded into the building demanding their money. As George Is trying to explain to them why there is no money, his new bride, Mary, walks in with their honeymoon cash and saves the day. To satisfy the demands of the angry mob and to keep their business open they give away all of their honeymoon money except for two dollars. Some of the following scenes show George and his wife through The Bailey Savings and Loan, helping others achieve their dreams of owning a home. George and Mary are living a great life and helping others do the same. Everything is wonderful, but then tragedy strikes. In case you haven’t seen the movie, I won’t spoil it for you, but the other thing I noticed was in the final scene. I was really shocked that I hadn’t noticed this before, but it’s probably because all 50 times I watched the movie I found myself moved with emotion and wiping tears away. I wasn’t quite as tearful this time and therefore noticed this inscription that was written in a book given to George at the end of the movie. The inscription was as follows, “Dear George, remember no man is a failure who has friends.”

Over the past week I have thought often about why I noticed these two things for the first time. I’ve come to the conclusion that it has to be due to the the blessings that have flowed into my life over the past year. Just as George Bailey eventually learned, I have so much to be grateful for in my life. A few years ago, like George, I felt like a real failure when I had to close the business that I had spent years building. Like George I have learned over the past few years what is really important in life. As I look back on 2015, I can truly see the goodness of God. I am thankful for the people that he is brought into my life that have so freely given of themselves and sometimes their money to help me get to where I am today. I am thankful for the friends that I have had for years and the new friends that I have made this year. I am grateful that I am in a position today to give as I have been given to and to befriend as I have been befriended. I am thankful for those people who have made a difference in my life and that I have the ability to make a difference in others lives.

So you may be thinking this is supposed to be a blog about health, what does this movie and what I am saying have to do with our health. Well it has every thing to do with our health. I just heard a couple of days ago a doctor talking about a new study indicating that people who are grateful and live a life of gratitude and thankfulness are much less likely to get cancer and more likely to live healthier lives. With that being said, I want to ask, how healthy are you? As we close out 2015 and get a fresh new start with 2016, join me in making this New Year a year of living grateful, a year of giving more generously, a year of being more of a friend and a year of making more of a difference in the lives of others. Let’s make 2016 the best, the happiest and healthiest year ever.

“the greatest joys in life come not from you being lifted up by others, but rather by the lifting up of others by you” 

Healthy Blessings and Happy New Year,

Dr. Phil

P.S.

If you want to start 2016 off right and live a more healthy, balanced, and vibrant life, then I encourage you to check out my Fine in 49 Online Health Course. In this 49 day journey you’ll learn how to take control of your health and why it’s so important to start right now! Our next class begins on Monday January 4th!  Click here to sign up today and make 2016 your best year ever.