Don’t Take Love For Granted
Movie Therapy From Some Feel-Good Movies
Image by L.E. Wilson from RedBubble based on work by congerdesign on Pixabay
Don’t take love for granted. This bears repeating because it’s important, and because apparently it’s not easy to do. It’s too bad that we’re such adaptable creatures that we get used to having a treasure and forget how remarkable, and rare, it is to love and be loved by someone. Why can’t the thrill and novelty of love last forever at its initial intensity? Sadly, that’s just how our brains work. But if we’re being honest, it would probably be too much to handle for everyday life. We need to get the chores done, after all! So we really can’t be dazzled and enamored all the time, if we’re to survive the rigors of living. But sometimes the distractions of life can be too much, and these may unfortunately result in taking love, and our loved ones, for granted.
We are, however, reminded of our strong bonds of love when they are threatened, when sickness or danger befalls someone we love, for example. But there is a better way. We can also make the effort—a conscious, intentional, mindful effort—to appreciate those who have shown love to us, to feel the grandness of that connection, so that they know that we care, that we are grateful, and that we love them back.
Here are a few movies that will help put a little love in your heart, which as Jackie DeShannon sang, will make the world a better place:
Splash (1983) is a fantasy directed by Ron Howard about Allen Bauer (Tom Hanks), a man who befriends a mermaid (Daryl Hannah) and learns how to love.
Life Lesson: Don’t take love for granted.
🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
The Princess Bride (1987) is a fantasy-romance based on the book by William Goldman and directed by Rob Reiner about a poor farmhand named Westley (Cary Elwes) who rescues Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright), and wins her love.
Life Lesson: True love means being able to say “as you wish.”
🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
Scrooged (1988) is a comedy directed by Richard Donner, adapted from Charles Dickens’ classic book, A Christmas Carol, about Frank Cross (Bill Murray), a cold-hearted TV executive who is given the chance to change his callous ways by three ghosts.
Life Lesson: “Put a little love in your heart, and the world will be a better place.”
🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) is a comedy directed by P.J. Hogan about Jules (Julia Roberts), a professional single woman who has difficulty maintaining romantic relationships and loses the man she loves, Michael (Dermot Mulroney), because she cannot express her true feelings.
Life Lesson: Do not take loved-ones for granted. Let them know you love them, or you might lose them.
🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
The Wedding Singer (1998) is a comedy directed by Frank Coraci about Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler), a struggling musician who finds out what true love is when he meets Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore), a waitress.
Life Lesson: Find someone to love who wants to grow old with you.
🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
Two Weeks Notice (2002) is a comedy written and directed by Marc Lawrence about Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock), a lawyer who takes a position with a large corporation in order to save a community center, but finds that her boss, George Wade (Hugh Grant), is too demanding.
Life Lesson: Love makes you want to be a better person.
🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
Shazam! (2019) is a fantasy directed by David F. Sandberg about Billy Batson (Asher Angel), a boy who gains the powers of a superhero, Shazam (Zachary Levi), while searching for his family.
Life Lesson: “Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”
🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.
Feeling love toward someone redeems us. It uplifts us. We become better, more compassionate, people. We care more, and we are able to show affection toward others, even strangers, to a greater extent. Isn’t this the way toward peace, both internal and global? Yes, of course! It seems so obvious now, and the answer was there all along—but, regrettably, we took the power of love for granted.
Or, we did. Thanks to the reminders from the movies above, that won’t happen to us anytime soon.
And by the way, thank you for reading this. I love you for it!
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Only one paragraph in and had to comment, I love that line about what a shame how we adapt and forget how remarkable treasures are. I think children are' dazzled and enamoured all the time' and we ask them to concentrate and learn too much too soon, we ask too much of them and then they lose the ability to be dazzled in the moment. My son could find such breathtaking joy simply just eating his toast in the morning. I'll go finish reading the piece. Thank you
Fun flicks. Although My Best Friend's Wedding was not a critic's pick, I loved it. And Princess Bride a long love. xo