You Can't Take It With You

I love old movies. Have you ever seen this 1938 Frank Capra movie? Oh my. In a crazy way, this is the moral of our own life.

TCM.com’s brief synopsis of this movie is:  “A girl from a family of freethinkers falls for the son of a conservative banker.” – but there is SO much more going on in this old classic than just that. The main part where I feel like we relate to this family is that they live life the way they want to. They are a big family living in one house [spanning 3 generations] and they do what makes them happy! By everyone else’s standards, they may not have much and they may seem crazy, but they are joyful. Shouldn’t that be one of the biggest reasons that any of us get out bed every morning? Not so much that people will think we’re crazy…but I’m talking about loving life. Doing what you love and loving what you do.

In this movie, calamity ensues when the granddaughter wants to bring her new man’s family over to her house so that their families can get acquainted. Of course, he comes from a family that is the exact opposite of hers. His father is a realist: a stiff businessman who lives life just to make the next buck. Yes, his parents have so much money, but they are definitely not happy. They can not – for the life of them – figure out this weird family that is breaking out in random dances, playing the harmonica and xylophone, throwing darts across the living room, shooting off homemade fireworks in the basement, and all sorts of odd quirks that go on whenever the mood happens to strike them, which is quite often. And it is quite entertaining to see this boisterously jubilant group of folks all gather around the big table for every single meal. They make no bones about loving family time! They also exemplify hospitality – welcoming any guests to their family table for a meal and good times.

So yes, this tale is also the love story of two people from two totally different backgrounds and follows them through the challenges that arise as a result of that. But the title gives away the main gist of the film – and that is that no one should have such a tight grip on material things of this world that it controls how they live their lives. There are more valuable things in this life than big houses, fancy cars, the latest electronics and just – BLAH – STUFF! It is more important that you have LOVE and it is a blessing if you have family and friends to share that with! I’m not saying that all shopping and nice things are evil…but where is your emphasis? Obviously, I’m a shopkeeper and I am totally inspired by decorating, design and creating spaces that reflect my family’s personality. Those things do take some money or bartering or effort.

But here’s the ?: Do you spend more of your hours each week trying to make money to pay for all of your material possessions that you’re in debt to, or do you spend the biggest amount of your time doing the things you love – WITH the people you love? Is it possible that you could even generate an income by actually doing some of those things? I have met a few people who have taken back control of their lives when they stood back and took a good hard look at what they were actually doing with their life. In a couple of instances, these folks sold all material possessions that kept them from living the happy, authentic life they wanted to live and moved their family to a nicer, smaller place they could pay off immediately. They got out of debt. They purged their houses and they purged their lives. In doing that, they then also had more freedom to transform their lives into something more meaningful for them.

Yes, it’s extreme. Yes, it’s crazy – but I’m also convinced that it works. I have seen it work. You can MAKE your life what you want of it if you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone. If you want to be a stay-at-home-mommy and your hubby is on board with it, then there are always things you can do to make it happen. You will never get a second chance to go back and be the main role model in your babies’ lives once they are grown and gone – and catch all those ‘firsts’ and teach them things yourself. Or if you’ve always wanted to live in a log cabin in the mountains, then do your research and see what it would take to build one yourself on a small parcel of land that you can afford if you sold your house, boat and extra vehicle. Or if you’ve always dreamed of starting up the most chic custom toupee shop in town, then what are you waiting for? Take it a step further and think outside the box: maybe the men uptown would be willing to pay more for stylish toupees made out of real squirrel tail? See? You wish you could brainstorm with me now, but I’m busy writing this post. Catch up to me after ‘while.

Why have we conditioned ourselves to think that we must work like rats, stuck in some cage, a job that really is not our life calling – where we work long hours and take few vacations? Everyone looks forward to the retirement years, because that’s when we get to do what we WANT to do! The problem with that mindset is that you spend your whole life being miserable day in and day out, finally [FINALLY!] get to retirement, and by then you are some old coot who doesn’t have the youth and energy to do half the things you dreamed about when you were younger. Why wait until retirement? So think about those kinds of things now. Don’t wait ’till later when you could have regrets over it. Make the necessary changes and sacrifices to do what you love NOW.

Life passes quickly and at the end of my days, I want to look back on my life and be glad for the little everyday choices I made as to what type of life I wanted to live – the life that God wants me to live for myself and for my family. I want to be genuinely happy.

How about you? Are you doing the things it takes to live the type of life you want to live? Or is it too extreme of an idea?

And definitely rent this movie or download it online! It will surely inspire you to look at things a little differently. Tell me how you like it!