Embracing new dreams: lessons from "It's a Wonderful Life" and George Bailey

“It’s a Wonderful Life” was a Christmas Eve staple for those of us who grew up in the time before endless streaming choices.

I didn’t know until a few years ago that a clerical error in 1974 on the part of National Telefilm Associates was among the reasons for that. The film lapsed into the public domain for almost 20 years and was snapped up by television stations. Not having to pay royalties, they ran it often through the holiday season. (A Supreme Court ruling in 1993 would change that.)

The film hadn’t seen much success prior to 1974, despite nominations for Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture. It made a little over $3 million at the Box Office and reportedly left RKO Studios in the red by half a million dollars when it came out in 1946, according to The Spokesman-Review.

Now, generations of us know, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings,” from little Zuzu Bailey and Clarence’s words to George Bailey, “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. And when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he.”

The themes of faith and family, of counting your blessings and the impact a generous soul has on our world ring through almost 80 years later.

But it also struck me this year how it illustrates the importance of allowing yourself to outgrow one dream in favor of a new one, without seeing that change as a failure.

The end of one year and the beginning of another often make us look back on what we see as our accomplishments and what wasn’t checked off our list.

A young George Bailey tells his father, “I couldn’t face being cooped up for the rest of my life in a shabby little office. Oh, I’m sorry Pop, I didn’t mean that, but it’s this business of nickels and dimes and spending all your life trying to figure out how to save three cents on a length of pipe. I’d go crazy. I want to do something big and something important.”

Yet, staying with the savings and loan was exactly what he did, and he accomplished that big and important something in a way he couldn’t have imagined in his youth.

What I love about this film is that Bailey’s life didn’t turn out the way he intended, but he built a happy life around new dreams.

The makers also didn’t intend for the film to become free game for television stations for close to 20 years either, but if that hadn’t happened, would it have become the classic so many people know today?

As we grow older, what we value changes, and so does what we need and want. When the 5-year-old who wanted to grow up to be an astronaut doesn’t join NASA, it doesn’t mean he or she is a failure.

The same is true of whatever New Year’s resolution you set last year that you may not have achieved by the close of 2024, or if the reality of your day-to-day doesn’t match what you had in mind a couple of years ago.

Success and happiness don’t come from checking off boxes. It comes, as George Bailey learned, from choosing to be grateful for what we have in our lives, treating those around us with kindness and generosity, and making the most of what we have in front of us today.

Donna Farley is the editor of the Daily American Republic. She can be reached at dfarley@darnews.com.