Movies reflect human needs: Gratitude

Blogging from A to Z Challenge

Theme: Movies reflect human needs...

Gratitude

Image from storyblocks.com

 

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. (Marcus Tullius Cicero)

At the age of 18, I made up my mind to never have another bad day in my life. I dove into an endless sea of gratitude from which I've never emerged. (Patch Adams)

When I think of being grateful in all circumstances, I immediately think of Pollyanna (1960) and her "glad game" -- finding something to be glad about in every situation. Pollyanna is not naive (as some mistakenly believe), she is fully aware of life's difficulties and chooses to find something to be glad about anyway. (Ah, another example of using Agency.)

Last year during the April A to Z Challenge, I experienced severe, crushing, leg pain for nearly three weeks. I was not grateful for the suffering at that time, but by the end the year I cried tears of gratitude for that very pain. 

You see, because the pain was so severe and because it lasted so long and because specialists couldn't tell me what was wrong, I became very desperate to solve the mystery, and wondered if maybe, just maybe, the fibroid cyst in my uterus had grown and was pressing on a nerve or something. 

So I made an appointment with a gynecologist to have it checked. Due to the pandemic, I couldn't get in until July. The pain was long gone by then, but I kept the appointment anyway.

Well... checking on the fibroid led to an ultrasound in August and the discovery that the cyst had not grown... but the lining in my uterus was too thick. So, that led to a D and C (removing the tissue) in September, which led to a radical hysterectomy in November, and the discovery that I had endometrial (uterine) cancer. 

Typically, there are symptoms that indicate that type of cancer, but I didn't have any of them. If it hadn't been for the leg pain causing me to wonder about the fibroid cyst, there would have been no reason to do an ultrasound of my uterus. The doctor thinks the cancer probably would have spread to other organs before symptoms alerted me.

I still don't know what caused the leg pain, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, and I'm grateful for it.

Some movies with characters who learn appreciation:

As Good as It Gets (1997)

• Cantankerous Melvin (Jack Nicholson) expresses appreciation for Carol (Helen Hunt), "I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do, and how you are with Spencer, "Spence," and in every single thought that you have, and how you say what you mean, and how you almost always mean something that's all about being straight and good. I think most people miss that about you, and I watch them, wondering how they can watch you bring their food and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive."

Big Fish (2003)

• A son learns to appreciate his father and his stories.

Front of the Class (2008)

• Although Brad Cohen (James Wolk) would welcome a cure for Tourette's Syndrome, he is grateful for the things he's learned through the struggle and refers to it as his greatest teacher. (Based on a true story.)

Inside Out (2015)

• Joy (Amy Poehler, voice) learns to appreciate Sadness (Phyllis Smith, voice) because times of unhappiness can bring about times of tenderness and caring.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

• Scrooge learns to appreciate Christmas, his employees, and family. (Of course, this applies to all versions of The Christmas Carol, but the Muppet version is my favorite.)

What movies comes to your mind regarding gratitude? Is there someone or something in your life that you didn't appreciate initially, but now you do?

(Note: The movies listed might not be completely family-friendly. See my "Movie Content" information on the blog's sidebar.)