Symbolic

I am feeling symbolic. Much of that was inspired by doing what many people I know did for four and half hours last night: watch the series finale of LOST.

It may seem trivial, superficial - even a bit sorrowful - that I was so moved by something that was projected to me across a screen (well, it was in HD). But this program has become a symbol. A symbol of art, of storytelling, of faith, and - I will say it - of what it means to be human.

Watching "The End" last night felt like a dream, a rush of passion and zealousness to reach that final point where we would know The Truth and everything would be at rest. And in the end, everything was at rest, and as for The Truth, some might argue that was most definitely missing. I am not one of those naysayers. What is real? What is truth? What is the answer? These are questions I wonder every day of my life. Why do we kill ourselves trying to get these things?

In the final scene of the show, I was reminded that a fulfilling life, at least for me, is one spent with the people you are given. One spent loving and cherishing what they bring to your life. It's about fighting for your people when they are down and revealing with them when they delight. It's about holding the hand of a person who truly ignites you.

I started watching this show because I appreciated the intelligent, intriguing premise (not unlike my favorite show of all time, Alias). And now I finish it on a completely different plane, wrapped up in the emotion, the characters, and the spiritual symbolism that pervades these final moments and for much of the latter part of the show. I think you can only truly appreciate the show's finale if you believe in a higher power, something greater than yourself. That can be God or a god. Or, it can be as simple and as beautiful as sharing yourself with another (person or dog as we see with Vincent's triumphant return).

I hear many of the show's famous lines now, and I can't help but see new meanings that transcend their original context. For me, the ending of LOST was a reminder of what is most important to me. It was symbol. I want to protect the people I have and seek out the ones I am destined to make a part of my life. This is not to say that I wish myself on a crashing airplane. But sometimes, it takes a kind of death to find the life you were always meant to have.

"We're all still waiting. Waiting for someone to come. But what if they don't? We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out...Every man for himself is not going to work...God knows how long we're going to be here. But if we can't live together—we're gonna die alone."

Image found here.