“She belonged to a different age, but being so entire, so complete, would always stand up on the horizon, stone-white, eminent, like a lighthouse marking some past stage on this adventurous, long, long voyage, this interminable --- this interminable life.” ~Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
As a child, my favorite movies told stories about wealthy characters (although they never seemed to be working), beautifully coiffed and inundated with various social invitations.
Inevitably one scene would take place in a grand ballroom of someone’s estate (or a dinner club with men wearing tuxedos and women wearing evening gowns). I was an invisible guest looking in on a world foreign to my own, watching their stories unfold on a dance floor while people fell in and out of love.
Each movie had a Jane Austen-like quality, minus the clashing of social classes.
“The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges.” James Stewart as MacCauley Connor in The Philadelphia Story
The Philadelphia Story was one of my favorites; it captivated me in true Hollywood style, just as Pride and Prejudice and Mrs. Dalloway did in hardcover. They fueled my already Utopian vision of how I thought life should be.
Adding fuel to my fire were the holiday movies I adored. Aside from It’s a Wonderful Life, there was White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Christmas in Connecticut, and The Bishop’s Wife.
Beautiful people with hearts of gold, singing and dancing their way into each other’s hearts. I learned from them the gold standard of how I thought people should be: doing good deeds for those in need, displaying an unending loyalty to family and friends, and always (always) having a compassionate heart.
Each story ended with a neatly tied bow for our viewing pleasure. We all know that life isn’t exactly like they are in books and movies. I’ve fooled myself for many years (and still do to a certain extent) wishing it were, burying myself in classic black and whites, holding onto the belief that our life can be a beautiful, enriching and rewarding one filled with song, dance,, passion, and pleasure.
In today’s world, we are caught up in the frenzy of the latest and greatest technology. I plead guilty to carrying my iPhone wherever I go from morning until night.
I play six games of Words with Friends. I stay current with emails, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, all “for the sake” of my job. I multitasked this morning by taking a walk while returning phone calls.
My neighbor walked past me while on her cell, never looking up to say hello or wave. There’s something wrong with that. Our humanity is becoming a lost art, and I’d love to bring it back.
“The main trouble is that too many people don't know where they're going, and they want to get there too fast!” ~James Gleason as Sylvester in The Bishop’s Wife
This is the time of year I love most, not because of the snow or the frigid temperatures. What I love is the magical feeling I get during the holiday season.
That feeling is a gift to be treasured and cherished, and I wish it lasted the whole year.
But – alas - friends and family grow distant. There’s never enough time for one another. Time to make a phone call, time to answer an email, time to send a card, or time to pay a visit.
We’re so damn busy “living” our lives that we’re losing something more precious than anything else. The value of showing someone else you have time for them and care.
“There are few people I really love and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it, and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.” ~Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Miraculously, when I was at my most cynical point today, that pivotal moment when I began one more time to wonder whether people had “holly in their heart,” I received two phone calls within ten minutes of each other.
One was from a precious family member, the other from a close friend. We discussed love and loss, grief and spirituality, sickness and health, aging and empowerment.
During our conversation, I knew I needed to get off the phone to finish working on this blog and my other writing assignments. Yet these calls were crucial to me.
They lifted my spirits and renewed my faith in the power of people.
“I often think," she said, "that there is nothing so bad as parting with one's friends. One seems so forlorn without them.” ~Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Indeed, I’ll never have the social calendar of Katharine Hepburn’s Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story or of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
What is true is I’m a work in progress, trying to learn to accept others exactly as they are and not as I think they should be. I’m learning that the faults I find in others are within myself.
The magical holiday season I love so dearly is what I make of it, not how others will make it for me. I will enjoy it by giving to others in need, sharing my joy with loved ones, carrying goodness in my heart, and (as we say in yoga) honoring myself.
I wonder what will you do to make your holiday more meaningful?
“Loving kindness, warm hearts, and the stretched-out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.” ~David Niven as Henry Brougham, The Bishop’s Wife
HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS TO EVERY AN EMPOWERED SPIRIT READER. I WISH YOU ALL SHEER JOY, GOOD HEALTH AND MAGICAL MOMENTS.
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DISCLAIMER: Comments from An Empowered Spirit are brought to your attention on topics that could benefit you and should be discussed with your doctor or other medical professional. I am not medically trained, and my posts are journalistic and not instead of medical advice. An Empowered Spirit and its author will not be held liable for any damages incurred from using this blog or any data or links provided.
