So instead I watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Better option? I think so.
I like "Breakfast at Tiffany's." It's got that whole charming-classic-movie thing going on, and I always end up singing "Moon River" in my head for several days after watching it. And Audrey Hepburn is all glamorous and George Peppard is all dashing-old-movie-actor-ish, and there's a cat in it named "Cat," and everything ends up all happily romantic in the end. It is therefore a good movie choice when it's 8:00 in the morning and you're eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and waiting for delivery people to show up.
Except for the gloriously romantic and heartfelt Hollywood ending and subtly emotional opening, my favorite part of the movie is by far the sequence of scenes where Holly and Paul run around New York doing a series of things they've never done before - like going to the public library and stealing masks from a five and dime. Eventually Holly takes Paul to her favorite place in the world: Tiffany & Co.
Holly likes Tiffany's because she feels like she belongs there. I won't give away the details of the movie in case anyone hasn't seen it, but Holly's had a pretty rocky life and doesn't really feel like she belongs anywhere. That's why her apartment is full of boxes after living there about a year, and why the cat is just named "Cat." Holly puts it like this:
"The way I see it I haven't got the right to give him a name. We don't belong to each other. We just took up one day by the river. I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is but I know what it is like. It's like Tiffany's."
I don't know about you, but I've totally felt that way before. That feeling of just not fitting in, or of not being sure where your life is going....still feel like that every now and again, to be honest. Holly feels disjointed and lonely most of the time: except when she's at Tiffany's. And that is why she takes Paul there on their day of doing things they've never done before. Which leads us to one of my favorite scenes in the movie.
As they walk around the store, Paul offers to buy her a gift, but he only has $10 to spend...which is problematic, since they're in a store that specializes in diamond jewelry. Nonetheless, they hopefully walk up to the counter, and explain to the salesman that they would like to purchase something on a rather limited budget. Click on the link to watch the scene:
What I love about this scene is the seriousness at which Holly, Paul, and the salesman discuss the possibility of acquiring something of lasting value for such a modest price as ten dollars. My favorite line is when Paul stutters out that the ring was "purchased concurrent with...well, actually, came inside of...a box of cracker jack." And the salesman just responds "I see..." Hilarious.
But at the same time, I like this scene because it resonates with me in its lighthearted portrayal of feelings of inferiority in a place where you desperately want to feel loved and accepted, the one place where you feel most at home.
How often do we all try to buy our way into acceptance and love? Really? Stop and think about that for a second. How many times, in small ways or big ones, have you sold out on yourself, your values, or the people you love in order to try and be accepted? But in the end, you always fall short, or end up unhappy because you only had $10 and could only afford a sterling silver telephone dialer...
Sadly, I think that a lot of people see religion like that. I think that people often walk into the church, prepared with a certain amount that they're willing to "sacrifice" or "spend," and if God calls upon them to give up more than that, then they're out. Or, maybe it's different. Maybe people think that by giving a certain predetermined amount of themselves - maybe by going to church, giving an offering, following all the rules - they'll find fulfillment and happiness...if for no other reason than that they've "done their religious duty." They've paid their ten dollars.
But just like Holly and Paul couldn't buy anything worthwhile for ten dollars, you and I can't have a fulfilling and lasting relationship with God if we try to buy our way in, giving ourselves only superficially. The religion that comes from a well-meaning approach of rule-following is nothing more than a pointless knickknack...I mean, who really needs a sterling silver telephone dialer anyway? Like Paul says, I'd want something a bit more "romantic"...more meaningful, more heartfelt.
And that's why I love the solution that Paul comes up with. Maybe he can't afford to buy anything at Tiffany's, but he can have something engraved...even something as modest and commonplace as a Cracker Jack prize. Paul didn't really think anything of that ring when he found it earlier in the movie; in fact, he offered it to someone else, who rejected it. But it's precisely this ring that becomes his gift for Holly, the thing that will allow her to feel a real connection with Tiffany's, and thereby a sense of belonging in a world where nothing else makes sense. A cheap metal ring may be less fancy than a sterling silver telephone dialer, but the sentiment behind its engraving far outweighs its modest appearance.
That is what I love about God as well. God is this super awesome and amazing being who created all these gloriously beautiful things that I can't own and couldn't afford even if there was a price attached to them. And He even offers an opportunity for a real, intimate relationship with Him. You don't have to be rich and successful to attain this relationship either. You just have to be willing to give yourself to him, however modest you may be.
God should be engraved in the very grain of our lives, not set aside like some attractive but useless trinket. Real faith, a real relationship with God is so much deeper. I think that people too often opt for the sterling silver telephone dialer, unaware that they could have had something much more special. But the telephone dialer is easy, predictable: you walk in, you pay for it, you leave. You've gone through the ritual act of being a Tiffany's customer. But you're left with something that falls short of what you expected, and this confuses you...didn't you do everything right?
Maybe the one thing you need to offer God is much more unique...maybe it's yourself, exactly as you are. Maybe you were looking to get an engraving all along.
And besides, everyone knows that sterling silver telephone dialers went out with rotary dial phones...
Oh wow. I really really liked this. It was poignant and transitioned well among subjects. The subjects were connected in an interesting and meaningful way too. Good job friend! I also really like this quote. :" The religion that comes from a well-meaning approach of rule-following is nothing more than a pointless knickknack...I mean, who really needs a sterling silver telephone dialer anyway? Like Paul says, I'd want something a bit more "romantic"...more meaningful, more heartfelt." That struck me because it made a funny scene a lot more heartfelt in my memory.
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