“It’s
paradise!”
-Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin
According to the Beatles, “All You Need is
Love.”
And
having just started out having nothing a short five years ago (and quite
honestly, still having very little), I would tend to agree. We didn’t need a
big house…. or a fancy car… or a nice TV… or the newest phones to make us happy
(In fact, until about a week ago I was using a phone that was literally seven
years old.). We were happy because we had each other (still are, I might add).
Heck, we didn’t even need electricity!! (About three and a half years into our
marriage, we were without power for three days in a freak snowstorm at his
parent’s house for the holidays. And we seriously had a blast!)
So, when A Factory Worker (Charlie Chaplin)
and an orphan Gamine girl start out together in a ramshackle little shed on the
beach where everything is either broken or breaking, and Charlie’s character
exclaims: “It’s paradise!” I am one to believe he truly meant it. Because I
have lived it—and it truly is.
As a side-note
to this post: Chaplin dedicated his life’s work to making people laugh in a
time when laughs were as hard to come by as a spare penny, and by that I mean
to say that in the Great Depression, not only were pockets poor, but spirits
also. His work gave people a lift when they needed it most. And there is
tremendous beauty in that. I admire his fortitude and his ability to continue
to be happy in the hard times. And as we stand here in another time of trial
and hardship (I refer to the current depression we find ourselves in, and not
the tragic Colorado shooting), I hope we can go back and resurrect Chaplin’s
work and find the simple joys in life once more. And Smile (which happens to be
one of my most favorite songs of all time).
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