Do it all differently??

With the coming of the New Year, I've pondered a lot lately if there was anything in my life that I would change.  There are a lot of things that I wish that I wish I would've done differently in my life, but knowing that if I would've chosen that path, I would be in a totally different place than I am now, with different friends, and a different relationship status.  I love my wife, and daughter, and I love my friends and I'm glad that they have been such an instrumental part of my life, but with that being said, I want to mention a few things that I would choose differently.

Knowing what I know now, growing up I would live my life less scared to mess up.  I was always scared of letting people down, or making a mistake.  I was afraid of committing an unpardonable sin, and I hate that I felt that way about my relationship with God through Jesus.  I wish that I held on to the idea and knowledge of grace, rather than the fear of wrath and punishment.  More risks, less fear.

I would've stuck with my original idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I was very interested in psychology, and being a psychologist.(considering that I am going into counseling now, which is a similar field)  I would've graduated with the knowledge of what I wanted to do with my life, and had a plan.  I also wish I would've went to a larger school(preferably Duke).  I loved the time I spent at my school, and I love the friends and experience that I had  there as well, but I feel sometimes that I would've gotten more exposed to the world as it is at a larger school rather than being shletered from things and being scared to get to know people who were "worldly".  Perhaps that was more of a "me" issue than a school issue though.

Thankfully, I can't change anything.  I would not have the lessons that I've learned, and the friends that I have, and the wife and daughter who love me no matter how many dumb decisions I make.  I'm thankful for the road that I've travelled, and the road that is yet to come.  

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A little more on my mind...(BP, I'm looking at you!)

Its been a while since I've last blogged.  I know it, you know it.  We know it.  Its not that I've been too busy, although usually when I feel "inspired" I am usually somewhere that I can't do this.  I have had some stuff on my mind the past few weeks that I really need to get off of my mind, and my chest.

Almost 2 months ago there was a tragedy of proportions in the Gulf of Mexico.  An Oil rig off the coast exploded, sank and men lost their lives.  That in and of itself is a sad, horrible situation.  However, the aftermath of what is going on still is effecting hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people in the gulf coast region.  We should be outraged as humans.  Not because of the accident.  Accidents happen.  But the way the CEO's of British Petroleum have handled it.  They have tried to manipulate and control the media.  They have tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the federal governement.  They have tried to get away from having to pay for the mistake and pass it on to someone else.  They have continued to insult the people of the gulf region.  They have constantly tried to sweep this "little incident" under the carpet, hoping that we as Americans quickly forget it.  The thing is, if we look back on history, especially recent history, we can see that if we don't see it on the nightly news, then we tend to forget it.

A few years ago, Hurricane Katrina barreled through the gulf, and wreaked havoc upon the city of New Orleans, and the gulf coast region.  The out pouring of support was great, but here we are 4 years later, and we barely remember.  Do we think that things are back to normal there?  Or do we think we've just done our part and moved on?  I'm as guilty of these attitudes and actions as the next person, but does that make it right?

In haiti, there was an earth shattering earthquake less than a year ago.  We had huge benefits, and concerts, and raised millions of dollars, and then *poof* we hear nothing about haiti anymore.  Do we think that our money has fixed everything just that quick?  do we not realize that there is still a ton of work to be done?  More money that needs to continue to be funneled to Haiti to help.  There are still too many homeless, orphans, widows that need our support.  Especially from those of us who say that we follow Christ.

Heck, in Chile, we barely have heard a blip about the hardships that they have went through as a nation.  I think that if that earthquake in Haiti hadn't happened relatively recent in time from the one in Chile, people would've cared more.  Or maybe, if it hadn't happened in the Southern Hemisphere.  Or perhaps, people confuse their Chileans or any South American with their disdain of the many illegal immigrants.  Whatever the case, the two minutes that they actually talked about the pain, death, and destruction of the people of Chile is almost laughable in comparison to the stuff that happened in Haiti.

Tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, tornados...these things happen all the time, and usually the only time we remember these things is when the media continues to talk about it.  However, the people who live there, and experience these things still need help.  We need to get better about not forgetting.  I think this is why I try to stick with the BP story right now.  We need not to forget about the way of life that has been changed(perhaps forever) by the horrible accident out in the gulf region.  

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An Amazing End to an Amazing Series

Ok, so this is probably my last blog or post about LOST forever....or at least until I feel inspired to go back and watch it all from the beginning, which probably won't happen until season 6 comes out on blu-ray.  I went back to watch the season finale this morning at about 5 AM in the midst of another night/morning of insomnia.  For some reason, I can't sleep past 4AM, no matter what time I go to bed.  Anyways, I digress...

It has taken me 4 days to finally post my thoughts/feelings/observations about the finale of the greatest television show in the modern television era because I wanted to let it all sink in.  I wanted to not have a quick knee jerk reaction to what I thought was a brilliant closing to a brilliant dramatic experience over the last 6 years.  I also have been waiting to read some respected blogs and opinions from people who have been as invested in this show as a whole as I have been.

I guess, I need to start off by letting everyone know what my initial reaction was during and after watching the finale.  I sobbed and weeped like a little kid through various times of the broadcast.  Usually it was because of the pure glee that I got from watching people reconnect from his/her previous island lives.  Without fully understanding what was going on until the end, I was purely emotional because of the joy of seeing the characters being resolved with his/her true love.  It was at this point during the resolutions that they were enlightened to what was going on, and we as viewers from the outside were left to wonder what was going on.  I thought the realization of the "flash sideways" was brilliant, and poignant and exactly fit in line with how LOST was written and directed throughout the series.  Tragic heroes were celebrated.  Loves were reunited.  Questions were answered.

However great I thought the episode and series was, there were obviously many critics to how it ended.  I found that these people fell into 1 of 3 categories.  1)People who wanted more answers in the end. 2) Conservatives who were upset of the religious pluralism that was insinuated at the end, and a few other "non-christian" themes. 3)People who just didn't understand what had happened.   To those people, I say this:  Did you not watch from the first season?  When have we EVER gotten all the answers?  When has this show EVER been a Christian show?(Sayid was Muslim, the DHARMA initiative, Jewish names, Catholic statues and monestaries....etc)  and finally, if you haven't learned anything about LOST from the beginning, you cannot take things about this show at face value...you have to pay attention, and then let the images, ideas, and story soak in.  That's the only way to really enjoy it.  Just like a good book, the real benefit cannot be fully realized until you take it ALL in and chew on it.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I wanted to share a few things that I had noticed about the finale that you may or may not have thought, saw, or interpreted that way.  But again, that's the beauty of LOST.

My first reaction to the ending at the church, and the whole "flash sideways" universe was that it reminded me of the ending of The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis.  The Last Battle is the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, a popular series.  Without giving too much away from the book(and the whole Narnia series) it ends with many of our favorite characters throughout hundreds of years of Narnian history together when some of them came to a fantastic realization that changes everything for them(and the reader) and to me, is one of the most emotional, joyful experience of all the Chronicles.  If you haven't ever read this series, I highly suggest it, especially if you have kids you can read them to/with.


Then Aslan turned to them and said:
"You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be."
Lucy said, "We're so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often."
"No fear of that, " said Aslan. "Have you not guessed?"
Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them.
"There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly. Your father and mother and all of you are - as you used to call it in the Shadow-Lands - dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."

The Fight between Jack and Locke/Man In Black reminded me of the fight between Neo and Agent Smith in the Matrix Revolutions with the rain and the obvious good vs. evil connotations.  It even though it wasn't as extensive of a battle as it could've been, it served its purpose.  We learned why Jack continually had the blood on his neck.  Another thought about the fight scene...when Locke stabbed Jack in the side, would he have died more quickly if he hadn't had his appendix removed by Juliet 3 seasons earlier? and if he had died more quickly then he wouldn't have been able to save the island the plane may not have taken off, his friends would've died, and they may not have ever been able to be together again. Hmmm Fate, Coincidence or something else?  Just something to chew on

On a personal note...Kate looked absolutely AMAZING in her black dress at the concert.  I'll just leave that one there.

A question that wasn't necessarily answered from season 3.  In Desmond's vision he told Charlie he saw a chopper coming to the island to take Claire and Aaron off the island so they could be safe.  Now I can think of 2 possible reasons why we never saw this scene play out.  1)  Desmond lied to Charlie to convince him to go down to turn the switch so that he may see Penny again.  2)  Desmond told the truth and if everything had played out like it was supposed to, then it would've happened.  We learned however, that the MIB who was portraying Christian Shepherd intervened and persuaded Claire to run off with him in the jungle.  If he had not done that, would Desmond's vision have come to fruition?  After all, there was now a chopper on the island that had not been there previous to Desmond's vision.  Hmmm

There are so many thoughts, interpretations, and theories on what it all means in the end, that there is no way that I could realistically touch on them all.  Here are some other questions that I have found from my readings that other people have had:  Why didn't Ben enter the church?  What did he have to continue to sort out?  Why was Sayid with Shannon and not with Nadia?  Where did the light in the church lead to? The Island?  What about Walt and Michael?  These are all good questions, and many will probably never be adequately answered for most.  However, for me the experience is worth the open ended questions.   Namaste

Last scenes of Lost

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LOST: The End??

In case you have been hiding under a rock somewhere in the world, then you may have heard that the series finale of LOST is coming to an end on Sunday. For most people, this does not register even a small blip on his or her radar. But for those of us who have spent the last six seasons(read: six years) engrossed in this television masterpiece, it is the end of an era, and the end of a personified relationship with a tv show, and the characters that we have grown to love(and hate).

If it was asked to a random person on the street, "What is LOST about?", they would probably reply, "about people in a plane crash on a tropical island somewhere." And although they would be right to a point, they would be mostly wrong. LOST is about relationships. It is about the relationships between families, between strangers, between us and the unknown, between us and something greater and beyond us. It is a show about perspective, and how one person's perspective is not the only perspective. Lost is a show about love. It is a show about war. It is a show about death. It is a show about destiny.

To call LOST a "show" sells this entertainment spectacle very short. It is a show, as in, something that ABC shows us on television weekly. But it could probably be more accurately called an "experience." LOST cannot be adequately explained to a person. It can only be understood by someone who has experienced it. There are countless forums to discuss each episode of LOST and what it means for the overall story. There are many different views on what certain symbols mean throughout the LOST narrative. There are many different books that are alluded to(directly and indirectly) throughout the series, which somehow have influenced the direction of the show. There are videos throughout the internet where fans have taken much time and effort in order to create their own interpretations of what is going on and what they hope will happen before the end. Does this sound like a normal television "show"?

There are many different themes that run the course of the show, but probably the most important and overarching theme of the series is, "faith vs reason". How much of life should we live based on faith, and how much of life should we live based on reason? This dichotomy is portrayed mainly through two specific characters, Jack Shepherd and John Locke. They wrestle with each other(figuratively and literally at times) between destiny and logic. Free will and pre-destination. Which side ultimately wins out? You have to watch LOST.

As I said earlier, this television show is about relationships, and you can't have relationships without characters. And for my money, you can't have a more diverse and beloved set of characters than have been brought out in LOST. Every character has their own set of fans. There are people who love the characters of Jack, Sawyer and Kate, and others who are partial to Locke, Ben, and Juliet. There are people who love the story of Jin and Sun, and Sayid. There are people who identify with Claire, and Charlie. All for very different reasons, but all for very valid reasons. Personally, I can see a bit of myself in each and every character, the good and the bad stuff. They are me, personified through a dozen different characters. Whether its the fun loving Hurley, or the faith driven Locke, or the person who wants to avoid and run from confrontation in Kate, or the reluctant leader in Jack. Each person relates to me, and I believe that is one of the reasons why the show is beloved by the fans. The relationship between the characters, and the viewers.

I am sad to see my favorite television show go. It has changed the way people tell stories on television. Am I a little extreme when it comes to my adoration of LOST? Perhaps. It effects everyone differently. I could talk for hours and hours with other "Losties" about their experiences and observances. I could write pages and pages about the show, every week. However, when it is all said and done, I think the question that people would ask is, "why should I watch LOST?" Well, I can't really tell you. Its just something that you have to experience. When Sunday night comes and goes, I truly believe that the LOST will not end, but rather its just the beginning for people who to experience it again in a whole new way.

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My First Post

Welcome to my blog. This is a chance for me to let the world know my opinions on a variety of topics. These topics can range from everything like sports and entertainment to politics and religion. I may review products, video games, television, and movies, to throwing out both educated to uneducated reactions and opinions to "hot button" topics.

I hope that you enjoy my posts. I hope that you enjoy what you read. I hope that it challenges you, amuses you, and most importantly entertains you. I hope that what I say is understood in the context which it is intended which may change from one post to the next. Most importantly, I hope that this blog finds the reader individually, and the audience as a whole to be well, to be blessed, and most importantly to be loved.

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