Things I learn from TV

Those of you who know me well, know that I really enjoy TV and have several shows I like to follow. And quite often, beyond the entertainment factor, I find interesting things to ponder. :-) Well, my newest, most favorite show is Eli Stone. It's rather quirky and odd, but I like the concept of the show and Eli's struggle to understand the 'gift' he's been given, where it comes from, and how it's changing him. In the last season, he seemed to wrestle constantly with the thought that his 'visions' were from God and were meant to be of help to other people. He found out that he had a brain aneurysm and thought he saw visions because of that. When we left him last season, he had just had surgery to have the aneurysm removed so that he could go back to leading a 'normal' life and get 'God' out of his brain. (or so he thought!) As this season begins though, he finds himself depressed and a bit lost and struggling to find meaning in his life. He's been temporarily laid off from work (because he was deemed mentally unstable due to the visions) and he thinks he will be fulfilled if he can just get back to the job he loves. In order to do that, he has to get past the psychiatrist who has the power to determine if he's competent to go back to work or not. After some pleading, she finally signs his paperwork, but tells him that his job is not what is going to cure the 'emptiness' in his heart. And I love her parting comments to him -- sorry about the long explanation to get to this, but I thought it would be better in the right context. He starts to walk away and then turns to ask her what she thinks he really needs and she says this:

"Eli, you're missing having a sense of the divine in your everyday life. I think you are less happy now than when your life was occasionally upended by the fantastic. I think that grace fulfilled you in a way that you didn't even know you needed. And the only thing crazy about you is the fact that you don't seem to realize that."

Good stuff... :-) ... especially the part about grace. The great thing about the internet these days is that most of these TV shows can be watched online now, once they've been aired. So if you're interested, you can go to http://abc.go.com/primetime/elistone/index?pn=index and check it out for yourself. Or just tune in on Tuesday nights at 9:00. :-) (that's the old-fashioned way -- haha)