Lost and Found

Do you watch the TV show "Lost" on ABC? I do, and for two seasons, I was Lost trying to figure out what it's all about. A jetliner crashes on an uncharted island...flashbacks of the survivor's pasts are juxtaposed against their current struggle for survival...strange events and tragedies torment the castaways...you get the idea. A relatively new character to the show named Mr. Echo made me realize what the show is about- finally. He is a Nigerian who was forced to join a rebel army when he was a child in order to save his younger brother from the same fate. He grew into a ruthless killer and gang leader while his brother became a priest. As he tried to smuggle drugs out of the country (while disguised as a priest in an attempt to throw off the authorities,) his brother called the police and tried to warn him to flee. The police mistakenly killed the good brother and believed Echo was the actual priest. He seized his opportunity and began his life anew. When asked by a fellow survivor if he was a priest or not, Mr. Echo said, "I am."

I believe the point of "Lost" is to show through the survivors' stories that no matter who or what you are, you can change your self for the better if you confront your past and make a break from it. Another survivor was a drug addict back in the world and found a plane full of heroin on the island. It was not there by coincidence (Mr. Echo's co-pilot and his brother were on the plane), but instead it was a test to see if Charlie could confront and conquer his demons. So it would seem that the survivors were brought to the island to be "born again" after confronting their pasts.

Being "born again" sounds like a Christian evangelical doctrine, but it is not exclusive to the religion. In my preliminary studies of Buddhism, I have discovered that its central theme is one of a spiritual awakening very similar to the concept of being "born again," (note that Buddhism pre-dates Christianity by almost 500 years.) The Buddha was originally a prince who was given every material pleasure possible and shielded from the grim realities of the human condition. After venturing out of his palace one day, he saw a very old man, a diseased man, and a corpse. He discovered for the first time that there is a lot of suffering in the world. Disillusioned by what he saw, he vowed to give up all of his possessions and develop his spiritual self. After six years of self-inflicted starvation and self-abuse, he came to a realization. It occurred to him that the key to happiness lay somewhere between self denial and self indulgence. "The Middle Way" as Buddhism is often called teaches that ending all suffering (including one's own) and being compassionate toward every living creature are the true keys to being happy and fulfilled. So that is what Buddha (meaning "the Awakened One") began to teach.

We all get caught up in the chaos of our daily lives. You can say that we all become "lost" from time to time. Whether you are a Christian, a Buddhist, or a survivor on "Lost", there is hope that your soul can be "found"or "awakened." That's #6 on my list of New Year's Resolutions by the way.