As I looked out my office window early this morning, I saw a beautiful, thick blanket of white spring snow on the trees and ground. It reminded me of the overlapping of seasons that occur this time of year. Winter and spring are overlapping. Hockey and baseball seasons are overlapping, and skiing and cycling seasons are overlapping. Business and life go through overlapping seasons as well. A company may shift its focus from market to market or product to product. A corporation may also either emerge from or shrink into financial struggles and growth cycles. Our lives may change due to circumstances or new initiatives that we undertake regarding our careers, health, fitness, spirituality or personal preferences.
As Easter approaches, Christians are participating in Holy Week and a remembrance period that travels from the cross of crucifixion; to the tomb where Jesus was buried, sealed and guarded; to the resurrection of Jesus from death to life. The grave is not a cheerful place. But the transformation signifies triumph over death. In between is the overlapping of seasons. When that all took place, there was despair amongst his followers that later transitioned to joy and hope and a new way of living.
And of course, you all know the Disney Cinderella story. Her wicked stepmother and hateful stepsisters virtually enslaved Cinderella. There was never any time for herself and whenever her name was called it was to perform work for the others. She lived her life focused on being courageous and kind, and so when she decided to go to the ball with the help of her fairy godmother, she found victory in becoming the princess of The Grand Duke. It is more propitious to do what is right and kind rather than what is selfish and defensive, and Cinderella benefited from her continuous pursuit of positive behavior. Or do you think that Cinderella was lucky? I know, the story is a fantasy, but was it intended to teach a lesson or merely be a “feel good” story?
The second part of that famous Disney movie has a different twist. At the time, Walt Disney Productions had suffered from losing connections to the European film markets because of World War II. The results were abysmal performances by some significant productions and a debt of more than $4 million. At that time that amount of money could be considered astronomical. The film was released in 1950 and became a huge success. Disney emerged from near bankruptcy to becoming the giant of giants that they are today.
Recently, also in the movie world, Jon and Andy Erwin, twin brothers, and creators of the faith-based film, I Can Only Imagine couldn’t find traditional investors for the film. They finally found the financing on their own and produced a low budget film that recently took the box office by a storm to the tune of $17 million the first weekend to rank 3rd. Their tomb of not being able to find conventional financing turned into a triumphant Cinderella-like story. Do you think that their determination to make this film despite funding difficulties was a critical success factor or were they lucky?
After considering March Madness last weekend, and seeing the snow this morning, I decided to write more about the Cinderella story that continues in the tournament and the transition and overlapping from season to season that has occurred. Last week I commented on Loyola of Chicago’s basketball team. Cinderella in the Disney story was symbolically trapped in a tomb-like existence yet emerged to become a princess. Loyola has been similarly caught out of the NCAA tournament (by lack of performance) for 33 years until this March. Now they are in the Final Four. What a story! Do you think that tournament-inexperienced, small, not known for quality basketball university has been lucky thus far during the madness? If you haven’t yet seen them play and can view one of their four wins before this weekend, I encourage to do so.
As you can likely tell, I love these stories, whether real or fantasy. Another one of my favorites is the movie, Cinderella Man. The film depicts the true story of James Braddock, a seemingly washed-up boxer who battled his way back to become world heavyweight champion in the 1930’s. Jim, later being labeled the Cinderella Man, was light for a heavyweight but made up for his lack of size with a powerful punch, a fantastic toughness, and a giant-sized “heart.” When he finally lost the title to Joe Louis, I heard that Joe commented by saying something like “He was the most courageous fighter that I have ever seen.” Do you believe that Jim Braddock was an overcomer or guy who happened to be in the right place at the right time?
Each of the situations described illustrates emergence from the ashes of despair, difficulty, loss and out of the tombs that held them and into triumph. Perhaps you also have transitioned or are currently transitioning from one place to another. The in-between position may contain an arduous, painful, and confusing struggle. Rather than become discouraged, press into the pain and remember that what was is no more and what is to come is yet to be seen.