Do Christmas Movies Give Us a Formula for Flourishing?
Exploring how Christmas films invite us to live lives of beauty and abundance, by believing in beauty and abundance.
Hi beautiful being,
One of the (many) little things about Lisa that I adore is her Christmas movie obsession. For the better part of November, all of December, and into January—she’s all about watching as many of them as possible. Essentially, whenever we sit down to watch TV during this season—if we have enough time for it—she votes that we watch a Christmas flick. Naturally, being a loyal and devoted subject partner, I pretty much always let my queen decide. All joking aside—although love does lead me to pretty much always differ to Lisa’s preferences on such matters—I quite relish this tradition. It’s because:
Much like a delicious sweet treat, Christmas movies have a feel-good “flavor” to them.
As we enjoyed Serendipity the other night, I realized that (generally speaking) there’s a certain formula to films that center on the holiday of gift-giving and good cheer. For instance—at the beginning of this particular picture, John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale’s characters meet by “chance”, and proceed to have a magical evening. As they part ways to return to their regular lives, and the people they’re currently dating, he asks: “What if we’re meant to be together? How will we find each other if it doesn’t work out with who we’re seeing now?” While she wants to leave this to fate to decide, he’s of a mind that good fortune requires one’s active participation. As you might imagine, over the course of the film, they overcome all manner of adversity—and hilarity—to end up together. As Serendipity concluded, it dawned on me that—in many ways—it paints a picture of a typical Christmas movie.
In my estimation, the foundation of such holiday films is this key message:
Believe in goodness, aka the Christmas Spirit. In other words, trust that beauty, kindness, compassion, joy, and generosity are at the heart of humanity and reality.
Along with its essential companion:
Act and speak accordingly.
With that in mind, the typical elements Christmas movies share, goes something like this:
An initial belief in goodness, aka the Christmas Spirit, that is often held by only one—or a few—key people
Adversity, which calls this trust into question
Doubt and a crisis of belief in said goodness
Unexpected twists and turns
Perseverance
A sprinkle—or more—of “magic”
The expansion, and spreading, of the initial belief in goodness
A happy ending, wherein goodness prevails—often in surprising ways
Does that ring true to you? Is there anything you’d add?
(From Inspiring Quotes)
I share this observation with you, friend, because it got me thinking: What if I lived my life more like a Christmas movie? What if you aligned your beliefs, words, and actions with a deep trust that beauty, kindness, compassion, joy, and generosity are not only the truth of your nature, but are the nature others, and of reality? What if, together we believed in—and worked toward—happy endings?
This idea got me SOO excited; it was like a quadruple shot of espresso in my soul! And I cannot wait to hear from you about it! What does this image stir up in your heart? How does it resonate, or not, with you? What’s one small way to live more like this? Please hit the comments up, like and share this post, and subscribe if you’re not already signed up.
Hugs & Love,
Lang (aka “Dr. Love”)