Life Lessons from Doctor Who

I have always been drawn to sci-fi shows and british TV which is why it is so odd that it took me so long to start watching Doctor Who. If you have never seen the show it is a bit hard to explain but the basic premise is that you have a Time Lord (The Doctor) who travels thru space and time in a constant search for adventure. Along the way of course he runs in to all sorts of bad guys and good guys all the while dealing with his own personal issues.

Lately, I have been watching the 9th incarnation of the Doctor which started in 2005. It took me a few shows to really get in to it but I was determined to see why so many of my nerdy/geeky friend liked this show. I now find myself in this position of wanting to watch this show whenever possible. As I have watched more and more of the show I have started to see some valuable life lessons. Tonight's thoughts come from Season 2, Episode 11:Love and Monsters.

At the end of the show the main character (Elton) for this particular episode talks about how when you are a child you taught to grow up, get a job, and have kids. This is the basic pattern for each of us to live. He goes on to say that life is much darker than this and it is also much brighter than this. As I heard him say this it struck me as to how true that thought really is. Life is full of deeply dark moments and events. Their are times in life when it seems impossible for us to go on. Sadly many people get so trapped in this darkness that they either kill themselves or become reclusive. These moments are tough and they are the ones that challenge everything that we believe in. It is in these moments that we learn so much about ourselves, our friends and our family. For those of us who come through these moments we come out of them stronger than we were before. We come out the other side of these times with a greater appreciation of the beauty and joy that surrounds us in this world. It is from these moments that we begin to see the second part of Elton's words about life.

There is amazing moments of joy and happiness in life. There are times in life when everything seems to be just a little bit brighter as if the world has been sprinkled with glitter. It is these moments that so many of us look back on during those dark days to give us hope for a better tomorrow. It is these moments that we look forward to because we know that they will give us rest. These moments help to reassure us that all of this craziness is worth it. They provide us with concrete proof that things can and do go right. These are amazing moments and when we are in them we never want them to end.

In the past few months I have experienced both ends of this spectrum. In fact, this weekend alone I experienced amazing highs and incredible lows. I experienced such a range of emotions from anger to joy and everything in between. Through it all though I recognize that I wouldn't trade any of it for the world because it is the experience that is life. God has blessed us with the experience of life. There is no need to for us to experience life but He made the decision to bless us with it. He desires for us to experience life so that we can better appreciate who He is and how much He loves us.

I am not sure which end of the spectrum that you are currently working through but in a sense it does not matter because he each part of the spectrum is a part of experiencing life. I hope that you are able to experience your life well today.