Frank Capra and Dragonflies

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Let History Judge

It’s a Wonderful Life--Soon, this movie should be hitting the airwaves in a month. This was a commercial flop given high production costs and the competition of other films. This movie was a considered a bust in its time.  However, this has become a movie classic. Listed by the AFI top 100 greatest movies. Movie lines, like, “When a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings” or "Remember no man is a failure who has friends.” make these movies unforgettable. It's A Wonderful Life

What If?

How would the world be without you presence? Think about an alternate reality based on your absence. Would it be better or worse? Would it have meaning? Would the acts you commit influence the ages?

People would like to think that the voice they carry has some meaning. Many would hope that the left they took, instead of right, played a part in deciding the course in the history of humanity. Why would anybody get out of bed if it didn’t. Many don’t.

So why should you?

(LONG PAUSE)

Somewhere Out There. . .

This took some time to answer. Absent of praise, absent of comment, absent of action has an effect.  Something will fill this void.  At times, good. At times, bad. Truth is Everything Counts. After you read this post, consider your actions, your thoughts, your feelings. Maybe not now. Maybe not later. But somewhere, the dragonfly flapping its wings in China will have caused a tsunami on the other side of the world. (Heather Wolf, Dragonfly was for you)

To Be or Not To Be

Look at your actions now. Click "Like" on Facebook or post a comment and poof strangers around the world have something to say. This is good. What you do with it, that is your gift. When people choose to remain silent, this too has an effect.  Too often, not pleasant.

He Stood Carrying Bags of Groceries

One of the most memorable things in my life happened on the other side of the Pacific some years back. A man carrying plastic bags of groceries stood up to four tanks. Alone in the middle of the street. There he stood.  Tanks would move to the left to get around this crazy man. He moved alone with his groceries in front of the metal giants.  Tanks banked right. Tianneman man countered, still holding the plastic bags. In front of them, he held his ground. Four tanks. This was ridiculous sight. I cried.

A saying comes to mind. The nail that stands up will get hammered down.

We all have voice. An important one. We can never know the effect that we have on others. Our view is limited. Some would say our capacity to know is tied to the amount of field in our view.  We, all too often, do not have all the information.  We never will.

Its a Mystery, but Things Work Out

Some things are true whether you believe or not. Our history has all too often proven this. World flat, Columbus discovering America (There were many before him), and so on. Some had faith to stand up and challenge dogma and long-held paradigms that were simply no longer true. I am sure Tianneman Man did not know what his actions had an effect on my psyche in Boston at the time.

Clarence

Thing is we cannot suffer through analysis paralysis.  Some believed in something more. Some took that act of faith and jumped.  Like Clarence, the Angel in It’s a Wonderful Life, he jumped to save another.  We need to do this at times. I am not saying stand in front of four tanks or jump into freezing cold river. I am saying, We need Heroes. We need to realize that others out there matter. Especially the one in the mirror.

What Are We

It is our gift to act. To think. To feel. To be. To Love. Read a snippet at the Wayfarers Chapel.  “People are essentially clothed are spirits clothed with material bodies.” If you have heard of Qigong, If you have ever heard of Kirlian photography, if you have watched a Star Wars movie, If you believe in a religion, then you know there is a Force. It flows. It runs through us, in us, and with us.

You matter.  They matter. We all matter. One voice by itself is beautiful Several voices in harmony that is a symphony. A Balance must be struck between the needs of the many and the needs of the few. 

It Matters, All of It

So when you start feeling and thinking that what you are doing is ridiculous and have no “commercial value.” Consider this, ridiculous as it seems. A dragonfly on the other of the world flapped its wings and its effects may have caused a tsunami around the world. A man with a bag of groceries stood in front of four tanks and would not let them pass. A movie considered a commercial flop would become one of AFI top 100 movies. A person challenged conventional thinking and now we have Dish TV and the Internet (That doesn’t fit) That doesn’t matter.  Wait, it does matter. I was just testing you. 

We Need You

You matter. It all does. So stand up. Jump. Speak. Shout. Think. Feel. Act. Love.  Just don’t be absent. The world needs ya. We all do.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good (persons) do nothing’