The Beautiful Things in Life

I didn’t plan on writing this post. Here’s why I chose to.

Once in a while, I see a movie that captures the virtues we are each capable of.

“Driving Miss Daisy” was one of those.

I watched it growing up and loved how Morgan Freeman beautifully portrayed the quality of lifelong service and grace, despite any temptations to do otherwise.

There have been other movies that also capture that warmth and grace of the human spirit.

Discovery

This holiday weekend, I discovered another movie with this quality.

To give a sense of this, there is one scene that was quite powerful.

It depicts two of the female characters having a discussion (now adults) who hadn’t seen each other in many years.

They’d been close childhood friends.

One moved to NYC and was now an affluent two-time divorcée who only finds value in possessions: her clothes, her chauffeur-driven car, her luxurious Fifth Avenue apartment, and her diamond rings.

The other was a waitress and a single mom who hadn’t lost sight of the value of friendship, integrity, and family.

As the two adult women and young daughter spent an afternoon together, the difference in their two worlds couldn’t become more pronounced.

It reached a point when the single mom, there with her daughter, couldn’t swallow any more of the shallowness of her childhood friend and, heartbroken, summarized the disparity referencing her daughter:

“She’s my diamond. I’m sorry if she doesn’t sparkle enough for you.”

And quietly walked away.

(The movie is “Mr. Church” with a beautiful performance by Eddie Murphy with a perfect cast. It is a beautiful portrayal of the human spirit, valuing those around you, and being of service to one another.)

What I learned

And, as I watched it, I realized an important subtlety: there are beautiful messages that unite us, make us collectively stronger, make us more resilient and appreciative.

And then there are ideas presented in the world as “beautiful messages” that divide us, making us right and others wrong, all under the guise of some virtue.

I was reminded of the simple fact that we can know the worth of an idea by this simple metric: What effect did the idea or message cause? Did it unite us or divide us? Did it make us want to work together or tear each other apart?

Being great

We each have so much to give one another.

Let’s not forget this ability as we approach this New Year.

Happy New Year.

David Brier