You should watch ‘Collateral Beauty’ starring Will Smith, Helen Mirren, Edward Norton, Keira Knightly, Kate Winslet, Michael Pena, Naomie Harris and Jacob Latimore.

If those names are not enough – or mean nothing to you – you should go for the story. I think that the movie is quite underrated, I think so mainly because I have not seen so many people talk about it. Maybe they did. Maybe it was just not in my space.

The idea of the movie is anchored on the three abstractions that bind us all – Love, Time, Death. A man loses his daughter and his life falls apart. He becomes a zombie and his company suffers. Somehow, he gets to be visited by these abstractions who he has written letters to while trying to make peace with his past. He basically has to reunite with time, not being stuck while coming to terms with death as he must rediscover love. While all this is happening, while our lead character is coming to terms with this, there are subplots on life, living, caring, sharing and a lot more to leave you thinking deep about what really matters in life.

You see, many times, we lose ourselves in waters too deep for us, either wasting our time on things that don’t matter or refusing to let go of grief. No, it is not a sin to grieve and it is natural to be sad and even feel like dying when we lose our loved ones or things we love. But we should not hold on to grief too long for in doing so, many times we can…and we often do, lose love and we lose life. We forget that life is like dominoes or a high stack of cards that we pack up. Whether it is the death of a business, a plan, or even someone close to you, you have to pick yourself up and hold on to the gift of today. As someone once said, isn’t that why it is called ‘present’?

We approach Christmas and as we do, there are several things that can get us worried. Plans that didn’t go right; work issues; the country going into bunkers; this and that… death always lurks and the worst death is the death of hope, faith and love. And you could easily experience this without knowing it. Is your life all about making the quick quid or about just partying or about just living for the heck of living? Do you remember to appreciate that breath you have?

Whatever you have lost, there is now to make life better and a whole lot of people who might be depending on you…or maybe even just one person. Or maybe nobody at all. What does it matter?

No one is put on earth for the emptiness of it. We are here for a reason and I honestly don’t know what that is. I will keep struggling to understand even as I remember fondly my father, my foster father, adopted fathers and mothers, uncles and aunties, cousins, nieces, friends, who have passed away. I will shed what disappointment life brings, each day at a time. As God lives, I will try to do so. I will be grateful for what inspiration I can bring, for my family, my wife and daughter, my friends and even those so-called enemies (whether people or events or just things) that are not obstacles to bring me down but exercises to help my muscles get stronger.

And if you can, please, do so. Who knows whose darkness you might be a star to, shining to bring a light …? Who knows, you could even be the sun shining on the moon to bring light at night.

Wherever today’s path leads you, may the journey be safe.