The most important yardstick in life is everyone I've helped who can be a better person. —Christensen
Douban 9.3 points, "How Beautiful Life" won the 19th Academy Awards, ranked first in the "100 Most Inspiring Movies" selected by the American Film Association, ranked 20th in the "Greatest Movies of All Ages", and is also a must-see film in the United States every Christmas, James Stewart played by George ranked eighth in the "Top 100 Best Performances of All Ages" selected by the magazine Premiere.
The film tells the story of the United States during World War II, life is depressed, the economy is shrinking, the protagonist George is preparing to commit suicide before Christmas, when God sent a will, sent angels to save him, and let him know his life's mission - to save those who are unfortunate. George had a left ear problem as a child and worked as a helper at a pharmacy in bedford. He is very clever, deeply respected by the boss, and at the same time very popular with girls. One day, the boss received a telegram of the death of his beloved son, and he was devastated and misidentified, but thanks to George, he was able to save the day. George grew up jealous and hateful, especially unaccustomed to the tyranny of the rich. Growing up, George was a talented man with great ambitions and was ready to go to college. At this time, his father died, and his son inherited his father's business and assisted his uncle in the affairs of the company. However, the company was in poor shape and faced bankruptcy at board meetings. If the company goes bankrupt, there will be many families in the town who will be in trouble. George persuaded the board of directors on the condition that he would serve as secretary general of the board. It was a far cry from his college dreams. Moreover, at this time, he also fell in love with a girl, and finally he gave up the dream of global exploration from a long-term perspective, stayed in the town, and married and had children with the lovers of the green plum bamboo horse, and constantly helped the people of the town to own their own houses. The film ends with a happy ending in the snowflakes outside the window and the Christmas song, which is an American miracle. The truth and goodness of human nature reflected in the film are thought-provoking, and George uses his lifelong choices to tell us how to measure his life.
While many people measure their lives in terms of aggregate additive statistics—such as the number of people, the number of winning articles, the amount of money in the bank, etc.," for me, the most important yardstick in life is that everyone I have helped can become a better person. —Christensen
George has been tasked with helping others since childhood:
George jumps into ice water to rescue his brother, causing him to lose his hearing in his left ear, abandoning his dream of exploring the world and letting his brother go to college and stay in California while staying in the town himself to take over his father's company;
While working at a pharmacy, the pharmacist Goyle was so saddened by the sudden news of his son's death that he mismatched the drug. George found out that he did not deliver the medicine to the patient and was beaten by Goyle. When Gore discovers the truth, he regrets it and apologizes to George. George forgave him and said he would keep his mouth shut.
George was still not defeated by Potter's temptation when the company went bankrupt, and gave the bank money for his honeymoon with his wife, hoping that the company would come back to life. He hated the tyranny and selfishness of the bourgeois potter, who regarded the people as cattle and money as his own, and he hoped that the company would provide loans to let the people own their houses without begging for mercy from Potter. In addition, since a large part of the employees are the people of the town, they bear the burden of supporting their families, and the bankruptcy of the company means that they are in greater hardship after losing their jobs.
Albert Einstein said that the meaning of life lies in putting oneself in the shoes of others, worrying about what others are worried about, and enjoying what others are happy about.
George took over the company and was imprisoned, constantly being shut down by banks, and one failure after another made him exhausted, but each time he was desperate, and he fell into despair after learning that Billy had lost $8,000, so he thought of ending the hardships along the way with suicide. However, when Clarence came to his rescue from the sky, he realized the meaning of his existence: without him, the people of Bedford would be poor, the people of the town of Bedford would be in dilapidated, and the people of the houses would be in dire straits; if he had not come to this world, his brother would have lost his life long ago; If Gower's patients had lost their lives by poisoning, Dr. Goyle would have suffered 20 years of prison; without him, there would be no high-rise buildings in Persian town, there would be no Bay Manor, and people would still live in a chicken feather; without him, There is one more girl in the world who ends up alone. Clarence reassures George, and eventually he returns to the town of Persia to take on the mission of saving humanity.
Unable to fulfill his dream of becoming an architect in his lifetime, george could not even get out of this small town, his heart was full of compassion, and he was saddled with the mission of alleviating the suffering of the people. His life is full of meaning because he has helped countless people in the town own houses and live happily ever after.
The happiest moments of my life were those times spent in the warm embrace of my family. —Thomas Jefferson
George and Mary are young, and Mary confesses to George when he works at a drugstore, but George, who is deaf in his left ear, does not know the truth. At his brother's graduation dance, the two met again and began an electric flint love affair. When George had nothing, Mary chose to marry and have children with George, no romantic and grand wedding, no glittering diamond rings, no comfortable and warm wedding room, instead of a simple and dilapidated old house. There was no honeymoon after the marriage, George was busy with corporate affairs all day, Mary was responsible for taking care of the housework and taking care of the children, and the old house was laid out in an orderly and full of life. Mary does not give up when George encounters crises repeatedly, tolerates The negative emotions of George in the face of adversity, and uses strong endurance to withstand pressure. When she learned that her uncle had lost the last straw to save the company, she resolutely linked up with relatives and friends on Christmas Eve to rescue her, and Mary was so great.
George's final resurrection is not only a blessing for George himself, but also the support of his wife Mary. Every successful man has a woman behind him, and that's probably it. Mary is an angel in another sense, an angel who does not abandon the power of George.
In reality, we are busy in the workplace, exhausted for the cause, ignoring wives and children, family, friends, do not know, when we are in a critical juncture of fate, the greatest support for us must be the wife, child, parents who unconditionally love you and support you. Therefore, balancing career and family, and giving family love and protection, can we be invincible in the wind and rain.
Romain Rolland said that love is the flame of life, without which everything becomes night.
The most important partners in life, family, friends make our hearts full, and life becomes colorful.
In the film, George has three opportunities to get out of the hardships, go far away, and give his wife and children a chance to live happily.
The first was to give up taking over his father's company and embark on the train to study abroad; the second was porter's high-priced acquisition of his father's credit company; the third time was when Porter hired George as financial ceo with an annual salary of $20 million, and has lived the life he had dreamed of ever since.
George gave up his brother's opportunity to study and take over his father's company, unwillingly, and whenever the train came in and out of town, the sound of the railroad tracks would always awaken his former dream again. The sacrifice he made for his brother was also for the people of the town, and he could not bear that his uncle would sell the company to Potter in his absence, and the people of the town could only beg for loans from Potter, lose their self-esteem, and humiliate themselves.
When Potter saw George desperately trying to save the company from the brink of bankruptcy, he tempted George again and tried to buy George's company at a high price. Later, Gaoxin hired George to join the company and used money to confuse his eyes. However, a sober George saw through Potter's attempt, refused on the spot, scolded, and slammed the door, undoubtedly giving Potter a heavy slap.
In Harry Potter, Dumbledore says, "It is not our abilities that determine who we become, but our choices." ”
George has the ambition to conquer the world, but he is trapped in the town because of his responsibilities, but he is still the king of the world, decisively rejecting temptation and maintaining his original intention, which is undoubtedly the crowning of human nature.
Frankl once said that there are three ways to find the meaning of life: to work — to do something meaningful; to love others — to have the courage to overcome difficulties.
1. Love your job
The only way to make people feel satisfied with their work is to do what you think is great, and the only way to make a great job is to fall in love with the work you're doing. If you haven't found a job like this, keep looking. Don't settle down, follow your heart, and one day you'll find it. —Steve Jobs
The essence of work is value exchange, and only when we export our own value and meet the needs of others, our existence is full of meaning. And the result of output value naturally brings about equal material returns and spiritual satisfaction.
Some people say that the workplace is a walled city, and people inside the city want to go out, and people outside the city want to come in. In fact, when we really put into a job we love and complete the work as a career and mission, we will appreciate the meaning of work.
2. Care for others
Establishing intimate relationships with friends, family, colleagues, etc., and running a marriage with a partner is a journey to discover ourselves and explore the true meaning of life, and it is also a journey to let us better understand ourselves, heal and heal, and find the bridge to the soul of our true selves.
The essential attribute of human beings is a social attribute, and only by establishing a healthy and close connection with society and exchanging value with each other can we find the meaning of existence. And a person's true happiness comes from the nourishment of interpersonal relationships, giving love, helping others to become better, and finding the value of living in human interaction.
Just as George in the film invests his life in caring for and helping the people of the town, and selflessly caring for his family, making his life full and rich.
3. Have the courage to overcome difficulties
Frankl said that in the midst of suffering, a person may still remain brave, self-respecting, selfless, or in order to protect himself, he may lose his human dignity in the fierce competition and be no different from an inferior animal.
Frankl suffered greatly in the concentration camp, but still maintained the ultimate love of life, missed his wife all the time, and a strong desire to survive gave him the courage to fight against fate, and finally survived luckily.
George in the film is precisely because he realizes his mission that he can use his strong faith and courage to achieve honor and disgrace and not change his original intention when he is in the midst of suffering.
George's life did not have a magnificent feat, nor did he have earth-shattering achievements, but he used his own actions to help countless people get out of suffering and move towards happiness. Their lives were changed by the presence of George, who was undoubtedly great, and his life was full of meaning. Looking at the world, looking back at ourselves, what kind of life is worth our efforts in the ordinary world, and how to measure the value of our own life is a philosophical proposition that each of us should be deeply tortured.