10: Resolutions

"Look, I'm not stupid, you know. They cannot make things like that yet."

"Not yet, not for about 40 years."

A favorite part of mine from the 1984 film The Terminator. In the scene, Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor discuss the plausibility of a cyborg, part man and part machine, coming after her from the future. That future they were both referring to is the year 2024. This year, today. Although we still have a while before we see if the future of the film could be plausible in 2029, right now, it's clear that some things were just make-believe.

It's always fun to think about what will come in the future. Because the future is unknown, we sometimes worry too much, which is probably why Jesus said not to focus on it. Most of the time, people think of all the negative possibilities that could arise, like artificial intelligence (AI) either destroying or enslaving humanity. But right now, the most sophisticated AI available can only write a paper for you and possibly trick a professor into believing it was a real person who wrote it. Hardly a humanity destroyer or an overlord.

So, instead, it is best to look at the here and now more than what the future holds. Many of the films I grew up loving have seen their years come and go now, like Blade Runner, Back to the Future II, The Island, The Terminator Franchise, and even some journeys back in time by Star Trek have been proven untrue. Our future is truly whatever we make of it, so let's make it a good one, to quote Doc Brown.

Going into 2024, I had this renewed sense of presence, and feeling of positivity, more than I ever had before. I couldn't say that for many years prior to this, especially since 2020. The year 2020 alone was completely forgettable, other than the good things you tried to focus on amidst the growing turmoil of the world. The year 2021 started with a full-on revolt in America and then my own personal health issues. The year 2022 started a sense of dread for me as well, as I was finishing my dissertation and felt all of that pressure, but I also felt a lot of negativity surrounding the year, despite any good. The year 2023 wasn't much better. Stress, anger, and uncertainty were abounding that year. Although I had no more dreams of consequence after March 2021, I felt a certain sense of uneasiness throughout 2023 that culminated in the Afib of July.

After the Afib, though, things began to change. Although stress and uncertainty were still there, I did have two moments that made me focus on something else: my blessings. First, there was the it's time comment in a sleep/wake moment, and then the dream to count my blessings. That is followed by the encounter with an angel. All of these things happened after the Afib and were progressing me in a new direction for my life. Maybe not new, but a more sustainable and important one.

Unlike with my sugar issues, where the dreams and encounters seemed like warnings of impending doom, these encounters since August 2023 have been one of hope and what is to come.

It was time for me to start believing in what is good, pure, and wholesome for my life and to not dwell on things that take away from that life. Because of that, I've done a number of things to help put myself in a better place as the calendar rolled over from December 31, 2023, to January 1, 2024.

There's more joy in my life at the start of 2024 than there has been in recent years. I'm not worrying like I once did, even a few months ago, because what good does it do anyway? I'm enjoying my time with my family more and more each day that passes. I look forward to being at work and doing my best job while supporting those around me like I never have before. I'm truly trying to be all that I can be now. I feel peaceful and content. That's not to say there still aren't moments of frustration, but I handle them better, forgive more quickly, and reason things out more rationally than before. I'm more open-minded now than I have been but with a narrow focus on what is truly important.

I say all of this because as we started 2024, I decided to make some resolutions. We all do that to some degree, typically things like losing weight or exercising more. But these resolutions I wanted to share could be life-changing in ways I might not possibly imagine until they occur. So, here is my New Year's Resolution list for 2024:

1. Be happy, assured, present, and joy-filled this year and beyond. I love the song Joy by for King and Country. I've been playing it a lot since August 2023. It fills my heart with happiness and has quite a catchy beat. Listen to it sometime when you have the chance, if you never have. 

2. Embrace the unknown possibilities. Whether it be a new way of looking at something, a new career opportunity, or a trip of a lifetime, whatever the case may be, I don't need to dwell on the how but the when. They will happen when you least expect it and be ready to embrace those opportunities when they arise.

3. Specifically for me, I want work to be good in 2024. Whether it's working with my teammates on a grant project I'm on, the members of the Virtual Reality and Nature Lab, my coworkers at the School of Nursing, or simply people at church, the organizations I serve, I want it all to go well this year. Re-ignite that passion for the profession I serve and grow stalwart nurses who can carry things forward. But most importantly, help people in sickness and in health.

4. For my family to be happy, healthy, and whole, and the chance to show God how much we love and honor Him. Back in December, my daughter professed her faith in Jesus Christ one night, and as the new year began, my son did the same. For the first time in their lives, they acknowledged what Christ had done for them on their own, on separate days even, so as to not give glory to me or anyone else for why they chose to do it. That's salvation! Now, as a family, we'll be being baptized at NewSpring on March 17, a rededication for my wife and me and my children's profession of faith for them all their own. It will be a great day and something I am truly blessed to share in.

5. For me, don't let negativity creep back in. Whether it's a political campaign or the tug of something from the past trying to wield its saber at me, there's no place for the negativity anymore. Unfortunately, negatives are all around, but it is up to how you choose to dwell on it. I've dwelled too much on the negative and need to accentuate the positives in my life. I'm sure this aspect will be an ongoing battle within me for many years to come. But making that change starts now, in 2024, and I'll work to maintain it for all time. I don't need to let things destroy relationships, ruin friendships, or cause great loss. I need to mend those relationships, enduring friendships, and create great gains. 

I think those are good, don't you? One thing I'm grateful for already, the prognosticators of the make-believe world of The Terminator were wrong. The only thing a computer has ever done to me is crash or pick up a virus. That was annoying, but at least it wasn't Skynet ending me. Those were fun movies to watch and rewatch, but it's more fun to watch the path my children, family, friends, and colleagues all take instead.

That's what I look forward to more in 2024 than anything. Less division, more unity. I can't wait to see what unfolds.

In the meantime, I hope your resolutions happen how they are meant to and that 2024 is the best year yet for everyone. After all, we've been through, we have earned a better year than some in recent history. Let's make it a good one.

Tune in next time for 10: Joy.

Loopholes, Jacob, the island....OH MY!!! Who else is LOST?

Cuse me Damon, but could you explain what is going on here with Lost? Let's face it, this show has loads of people talking. By loads I mean the people that actually still watch it and didn't stop tuning in simply because they wanted to see more of Sawyer doing what he does or Kate's bottom. No, this show is for those with an open mind to possibilities most people could care less about. These same people that claim to be lost on Lost, also buy into the "Lone Gunmen Theory" of the JFK assassination, "NASA faked the Apollo Landing Theory", and they kept voting for Kate Gosselin on Dancing With the Stars simply because she's good entertainment to them.

Hey, we all need a release sometimes. Let's face it, most blondes are great entertainment from their bountiful assets, to their mind numbing dialogue. I can see what people like about Kate, because you truly do see people like her everyday. I just don't understand why it's lasted this long, because you do see people like her everyday! That goes for Survivor, American Idol, The Real World (any of them), Big Brother, or any other TV show that is long overdue for cancellation because of its inherent ability to suck people into a sinking ship.

What's the deal with the love affair some people have with stuff that is basically....well, stupid, for lack of a better word? Are the American people that inebriated by this "entertainment" that they just don't care to rationalize it out at all? I don't even believe it has to do with simple mindedness because some of the people so enamored by such things as Kate seem to be well educated people and you'd think they would ultimately deduce that Kate, and anything else like her, sucks!

Yet, they keep flocking and changing the channel to these shows, all the while ignoring shows like Lost simply because you might have to think a little bit about what is going on as you watch the show. That's the same way for FlashForward, Fringe, and an assortment of other TV shows out there anguishing on the brink of cancellation, hoping to get renewed year after year. I'll admit, V, eh, never been that interested; The Sarah Connor Chronicles could have been done better; but hey, people love the latest Vampire TV series to come out, namely Vampire Diaries. That's an obession for another blog later...don't get me started on this whole Twilight fiasco. Seems like subliminal brainwashing to me.

I didn't watch Lost during the first season mainly because I wasn't watching any TV shows at that time. There was just too much to do in my new home and too many other things I wanted to do in life for TV at that time. But, I watched one episode of the second season and became hooked immediately. The reason, it was more than just some people being lost on an island. I think that's why people tuned in for the first two seasons, especially the first. It seemed like a dramatic version of Survivor, or even a TV version of Cast Away. But this went beyond the "realistic" approach that had Tom Hanks talking to volleyballs and men and women voting each other off the island. Lost presented something every week that you'd never expect. That's what got people so interested in the first place. That and the characters themselves. Who doesn't like Evangeline Lilly in a two piece? Who doesn't just think Sawyer is the cat's me-wow? Who doesn't like seeing the debate waged between Jack and Locke about science and philosophy? Who wasn't curious to see if the Losties would get off the island? It was an awesome first season and lived up to the hype. People talked about it on radio stations, on street corners, during lunch. Great show.

Then they got in the hatch and it's been downhill ever sense. No one seemed to really like Desmond. What was the point in the hatch anyway? What was the hatch protecting? As the 2nd season continued to unfold, grumblings increased, until the hatch blew up and season 3 began.

Then it just got weirder. There's another island to this island? Why all the mind games? How did Locke, Desmond, Eko, and Charlie survive this blast anyway? Why is Desmond shifting through time? Weird, weird, weird! Not as weird though as when you get to the final episode of season 3, rescue is imminent, Jack is happy, only to see Jack bearded up yelling, "We have to go baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Huh? They get off the island and he wants to go back???

So season 4 became the arduous journey of simply getting off this island, with an assortment of new characters involved. Basically a 14 episode season reflected all of a week in the Lost universe. But hey, one season of 24 is but a day, so who's counting? And how does this adventure to the boat turn out? Only 6 Losties getting off the island, the boat sinking and the island...DISAPPEARS! WTF???

Now it gets even weirder! If you're a fan of Miss Teen South Carolina, now would be a good time to exit the page, you won't understand this part. The island inhabitants start shifting through time! That's when a lot of people, minus the die hard fans, changed the channel. It was just too weird. The unfortunate thing is, they really missed out on a good season. You got to see flashbacks, flashforwards, flashes through time, and in the 6th and final season you have a flashsideways! Yes, for those of you that thought Season 5 was too weird, you ain't see nothing yet until you've seen season 6 and the Alternate-LA reality where no crash ever took place and the island is sunk!

Alternate realities, time travel, philsophy, science, theology, mythology, black smoke monsters, people living in a foot, the others, the Losties! Oh my! Dorothy's head would have exploded by now. All this stuff is twisting so fast, not even a Twister could keep up with it!

But that's the tapestry that has been weaved, and it is amazing! You have an island, somewhere in the Pacific, where a mysterious energy gives human beings the ability to explore the unknown possibilities of existence. One being guards this secret from others, while another tries to manipulate and use it to their own advantage. All the while, a few chosen people inexplicably end up on the same plane at the same time to crash land on this island and begin experiencing all the island has to offer. Those that can't walk, walk again. Those with incurable diseases go into remission. They find out there is much more to this place than meets the eye. Even when they think they understand what is going on, they still don't. And it's all finally culminating into a dramatic finale where something truly has to give. Not so much so the audience can understand exactly what is going on, but so a resolution to this epic tale can finally unfold.

The thing about Lost that makes it different from most shows on TV, and profoundly more interesting, is that it speaks in parables. Each episode is a story unto it's self, but still a major part of the whole. That's the way life is. Every interaction we have is a story unto itself, but fits into the perspective of our entire life. Once, there was a man that taught in this same format. The purpose of that format was so the listener could grow in understanding of the words that he spoke without having to be spoon fed the answers they seek. His name was Jesus, look him up!

Lost isn't supposed to give you the answers, it's supposed to allow you to figure it out on your own. I believe even once the final episode airs on May 23, 2010, we still won't have all the answers. But that's the point, isn't it? Do we in real life have all the answers figured out? Do we completely understand why we are here? What is the point of all this? And, don't others meet those that attempt to figure it all out with ridicule over their vain attempts? Although it is fun to try and figure out where Lost is going, there's no point to it. It's not about endings, it's about understanding. In order to understand, you have to think. That means you have to stop watching BS shows about supposed reality, which is about as real as Lost is anyway, and start indulging in that which cannot be explained readily. Only then will you come to realize what Lost is truly about. I can tell you, it's not about physics; you don't have to be a mathematician to figure it out; it's about who we are as people, where we are going, what we believe in, and most importantly, why we are here.

You have no idea what I'm talking about do you? That's ok! You'll figure it out one of these days, or just go on believing Lost is going to be cancelled. Last time I checked though, you never had the kind of fanfare about a show ending the likes of which Lost has entailed when it's going off into oblivion. Typically, when a show gets cancelled, it just simply ends. As far as I can tell, the only show that has ever come back from the dead is Star Trek. Oh yeah, that one belongs to J.J. Abram's now too! And it's been resurrected twice now!

So here's to getting Lost, may we never completely understand it because it's always been better that way!