LOST

I am a LOST junkie. I watch it every week faithfully. I think I love it. I don’t know why I look forward to it so much…it is just so intriguing to me. I love speculating what it all really means. The thrill of the hunt I suppose.

For those who are not LOST fanatics...let me give you a SUPER brief teeny tiny synopsis of what is going on.

The show has been on for 6 seasons. In the very first episode, there was a plane crash and now these people that survived are on this mysterious island…faced with monsters, things from dreams, shadows from their past, and mysterious groups of people, all there for different reasons it seems. (One such group for example, is called “The Others.”)

Point is…they don’t know what is real, and what is not. Who is good, or who is bad. It is a mess of confusion and it is up to the audience to determine what it all means. Different characters view their journey different ways. In the beginning, John Locke was known to be the man of faith. He believed he was brought to the island for a reason. Jack Shephard was a man of science. He believed that it was all neither here nor there…but just focused on how he could get off the island. As the seasons have progressed, so has the cast of characters attitudes and beliefs.

Where are ya goin’ Meri?

Well…Im kinda fellin’ like this whole diabetic life is a bit like LOST. What does it all mean? Were we brought to this point for a purpose? Is it all just dumb luck?

We were all wrecked here, right? We were planning to go to freakin’ Italy so to speak…and ended up nose diving into this LOST world. We have been stranded with a community of people that we wouldn’t have given a second look to, and yet they have become our best allies…The people we rely on to get us through the times when the smoke monsters spread confusion. We are finding we NEED each other. And in the process we are realizing we would have missed out on all of this if we were not stranded on this island in the first place. There are the “Others” of the Type 2 community. They are muddling along with us…their experiences here somewhat different than ours…but at the same time, they are on the same cruddy island living with very similar living conditions.

If diabetes never happened I wouldn’t be here. I would be living my life in a different place mentally all together…with a different perspective for sure.

But would that perspective be a better one?

The characters on LOST this season are in the process of finding out which would be better…a life where they NEVER landed on the island and NEVER witnessed that trials and horror that existed there, or a life living through the hell on the island, and growing because of it. Loving more. Feeling more. Living more. Each life brought a different set of values and completely different life perspectives. BUT! It is important to point out that both lives have value and both are worth living.

Now I’m going to stop here for a second and ask you t STOP your train of thought. NO! I am not HAPPY that we were wrecked her on Diabetic Island. It is scary here and this life isn’t just affecting me, but my husband and more than anyone, my children. But if my family HAS to be wrecked…I’m glad it is with good peeps that have my back. Just sayin’. Okey dokey, moving on…

The running theory for the LOST finale, is that the characters will have a choice…they have lived the life with the island, and they have lived a parallel life where the island never existed. Knowing what they have learned, knowing that both lives have molded them into different people…which life will they ultimately choose? I think they will all choose differently. And I think in our community, it would be the same way.

What is your perspective on all of this? I’m sure, just like the characters in LOST, your perspective has changed over time…and will continue to change as you grow, and experience all this island has to offer. The good and the bad. Like LOST, it is up to us to determine what it all means. Dumb luck? A divine hand? I can’t say what way I believe…I think I flip flop between the two. But what I can say is that through all of the trials that the last 12 years have handed out, I have more thoughtful priorities…priorities that I wouldn’t have had if none of this ever happened. Not that I’m happy about it or anything…but it is what it is.

So yeah, I’m LOST. Like the show, there are good days and bad days, there is heartbreak and joy…but an enduring spirit none the less. I go back and forth between science and faith…”When can I get off this flippin' island?” And “Wow, there are some wonderful beaches, how lucky am I to be here!” (Maybe I have some kind of island fever, I dunno.)

Through it all I have to wonder, will my family live here forever? Maybe…so I’m getting comfortable. I’m enjoying the scenery, focusing on the task or the monster that is in front of me at the moment, and in the process, getting to know the wonderful people that are stranded here with me.

Because whether I like it or not…I believe I am a different person for being here. And maybe, just maybe, that isn’t such a bad thing.