I once
was "lost," and now I'm found. I get it! Though I'm not sure I can
quite explain what I get, yet.
It's
right out there, in my peripheral mind, just out of reach of total
comprehension. And it has something to do with a television series.
Stay with me here.
I'm not
the only one who's been waiting for ABC's "Lost" to tell us the
meaning of life. And considering that much of my personal philosophy
has come from things I've seen on TV, this isn't necessarily an
unrealistic expectation.
OK, it
was silly to expect something from "Twin Peaks." The grand finale of
that series, which, if I recall right, had a dwarf running around a
hotel from room to room while the writers wrote the script during
the commercials, was a major disappointment. Much like the finale of
"The Sopranos" where we thought we'd learn how justice could
properly be served to bad people we loved, and instead got told:
"Grow up, viewers, it's just a television show!"
But I
remember "Wagon Train." I think it was Major Adams, the wagonmaster,
who read his charges something from Scripture I hadn't heard before
(because we Catholic kids were not encouraged to read the Old
Testament).
"To
everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under
heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die ... a time to kill, and
a time to heal ... a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to
mourn, and a time to dance."
I
thought that was wonderful, so went to the library the next day to
copy it into my quote journal. It spoke of balance, perspective, the
world making sense.
I
happily grew up and old, picking up clues to the meaning of life
from television, movies and novels along with all the more
substantive guides, of course.
I wasn't
too disappointed with the "X-Files" movie, during which, if the
truth was out there, the cast didn't find it.
Had
better luck with "Star Trek," both the TV series and film. I have a
Star Trek poster in the hall with words to live by and remember
like, "Keep your phaser set on stun; humans are highly illogical;
when your logic fails, trust a hunch; insufficient data does not
compute; even in our own world, sometimes we are aliens." And, of
course, the famous line: "When going out into the universe,
remember: Boldly go where no man has gone before!"
Television series-wise, that's what "Lost" has been doing, going
where no series has gone before. This season there is an alternate
universe. Yes! Though I hear another show is also doing parallel
universes, but I'm not watching that one.
I think
I can see where it's all going. Say we are in a plane crash and lost
on an island. We might wish the plane hadn't crashed. But what would
our lives have been like if it hadn't? What if we can find out? And
then discover that what seems, in our lives, to be a tragedy, turns
out to be better than our original plan, or just another kind of
adventure from which we learn for our karmic growth. Perspective,
balance, the world eventually making sense.
Let's
try out the theory on our present political situation. What if
Barack Obama hadn't won the election? I can imagine an alternate
universe in which the country continues its slow slide into
increased debt, cultural sludge, unaffordable wars; the frog slowly
boiling, oblivious to its impending death.
But in
the real 2010 we have a universe in which the country dives over the
edge, the debt heads towards $20 trillion and default, all criticism
is "racism," and all dissent "fanaticism."
So the
frog, tossed into the hot water, jumps out in time to survive. In
this universe, the Obama presidency could become a blessing.
On "Meet
the Press" last weekend, former Treasury secretary Henry Paulson
stammered through his "Lost World" budget analysis, looking like
someone who'd just swallowed a TARP. Alan Greenspan announced "the
recession is over" and something about a "gradual reduction in the
rate of decline." The plane heads toward "crash."
But out
in the parallel America universe, challengers who pledged to cut
deficits are running for office, scaring debt-hiking incumbents
across America. Sarah Palin gives a barnburner speech at the Tea
Party convention — without using a teleprompter.
Political correctness is now ridiculed. The phrase "for the
children" becomes a joke as citizens count the debt being piled on
future generations.
We who
had been feeling "lost" since the 2008 election have found our time
to laugh, a time to dance with Sarah, and a time for the purpose of
saving our country.
So
having thought about it as I write, what I get is this: No matter
where we are in time, we have another chance to make up for
mistakes, to create our own universe.
Unless,
of course, the clues to the meaning of life aren't really found in a
television series, in which case, we may be doomed.