In case you haven't read the book The Death And Life Of Charlie St. Cloud or seen the movie Charlie St. Cloud, the story is more about finding your reason for living.  

When Charlie's younger brother Sam died, he found it extremely difficult to move on. He felt like he also died with him in the car crash that took his life.

He wasn't grateful that he was given a second chance because he couldn't see the purpose of living anymore.

Until this girl came along and taught him how to live again. Now he's torn between keeping his promise to Sam, and pursuing the love of his life.

Lessons Learned From Charlie

Death can never separate us from the people we love. They will always be alive in our hearts.

Life catastrophes are inevitable, but the choice between letting it steal our hope and joy or moving on is up to us.

Sometimes, it's okay to break our promise if it will eventually release us from the prison we built for ourselves and for the other person.

It's normal to grieve over a loss but at some point, we need to let go. Not only for ourselves, but for the other person too.  

Death is indeed the beginning of another life, both for the person who died and the person he left behind.

Nothing just happens. Everything has a purpose.    

There is a solid reason why we're given a second chance. Let's not waste it by living a directionless life.

When we let go of the past, we open ourselves to new and beautiful possibilities.

It's not easy to let go and move on that's why we need other people to help us. Don't shove them away.

Let's be more compassionate and understanding towards others. We don't know what they've been through and what they're going through.  

We can let guilt eat us alive or let forgiveness give us a new life.

There's no such thing as a lost cause.

Follow what you believe in. It's always worth the risk. Take as many chances as you can.

It's better to put your faith on something than believe in nothing.

Ultimate lesson learned from Charlie St. Cloud:

Love is the ultimate force in this universe. Love conquers all, especially the fear of living, fear of giving and fear of not receiving something back.

If Tess didn't come along, Charlie would have been stuck in the past, playing catch in the woods with Sam every night for the rest of his life. He would have died in vain without finding the reason why he was given the second chance; why him and not Sam.

It's a powerful story about love (and Zac Efron playing the lead role is reason enough to watch it, c'mon).

Not just about romantic love but also about the unconditional love we have for family and ultimately about selflessly loving ourselves.

All photos from Google images.



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