Yesterday my wife and I finally finished Lost. It's been a long run with ups and downs, but we still recall the very early days of watching the series together in the dark and in suspense of what crazy adventures Jack and the rest of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 would get on to.
The beginning was great! Trying to get off the island, finding the Others, etc. But then when a few finally got off and the time travelling started, things got a bit weird and some plot lines seemed to go nowhere. But we stuck with it. And in the end, I'm not really sure how to feel. The ending leaves me feeling both content and yet still yearning for more. Ideas float around in my head of how things could have ended differently, but then I realise, that's just it. Things can always go differently, but why bother worrying about what could have happened when you can think of what will happen and what did happen, and that is when I feel content with the story.
So many crazy things happened to these characters that anything could happen to them in the future! And that, is also what brings the series home to me. I see it as a very simplified idealised version of life in general, where anything can happen, no matter what you believe. You don't know when it will end and why, and you might be very disappointed or fully content, but what is important are the people and experiences you gained along the way. And, you know what, those people and experiences can even change! Nothing is constant, just like the characters (and even the island) in the series. Most characters flip-flop from wanting to leave the island to wanting to stay and each time they make this conviction we can, eventually, understand their logic. And this should be embraced and not seen as a weak storyline, since without accepting change (and knowing that change can come at any moment) we can not fully embrace the many sides of life.
We can all feel like we're lost on an uncharted island sometimes, with no goal but to get off the island and back to what we know. But, we can also realise that once we manage to get off the island home might not be the same as it was, so much so that we might even want to get back to that uncharted island we so desperately wanted to leave in the first place. And that is because we grow and evolve as we experience new things and meet new people. And this is the spice of life! This is a gift we should embrace.
I recommend we all get lost every so often.
