At the SAG Awards two weeks ago, the adorable Jennifer Lawrence had a fan meltdown when she met Damian Lewis from Homeland on the red carpet. The two shared a moment followed by Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson "spoiling" the third season of Homeland by revealing the fate of Lewis' character. Lawrence was appalled and horrified by the revelation since she hadn't yet watched the third season. I, too, have not yet watched the third season of Homeland and inadvertently saw Brody's fate in Entertainment Weekly's "Year in Review Issue" a few weeks ago. I'm a bit behind in my TV viewing, and like some people, have recently become addicted to Breaking Bad after hearing other people rave about the show. In the process of learning Brody's fate in EW, I also inadvertently learned the fate of Walter White after only having watched the first season of the show. My initial response was to throw my hands and my magazine up in the air in annoyance. Way to go and ruin the show! I had been taking careful measures while reading EW and conversing with people who watch the show to avoid this exact situation. But then I took a moment to reflect. Am I really surprised to learn the fate of Walter White? Nope. And more importantly does knowing the fate of Walter White really impact how I consume his journey into the dark side of humanity? Nope. I may know the ending, but I am confident I will continue to be astounded by the insanity and absurdity of Walter's dissent into oblivion like so many tragic figures before him.
In high school, I remember reading Romeo and Juliet in my Freshmen English class knowing full well the outcome of the tragedy; however, this knowledge in no way diminished my experience. In fact, it may have heightened my experience. Instead of worrying about what may come of poor Romeo and the lovely Juliet, I was able to focus on the beauty of their experience. After reading Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in tenth grade and knowing the fate of Caesar, I smiled at my twelfth grade English teacher as she passed out Hamlet and thought wryly, bet things don't go so well for this guy. Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest playwrights to ever live, and he "spoiled" every single tragedy he wrote by naming it after the character or characters he offed by the end of the play.
Likewise, one of my current favorite TV shows How I Met Your Mother has made me fully aware of the main character's romantic fate. In the fall, I felt so sad knowing this would be the last season for a show that so consistently makes me laugh and ugly cry-- sometimes in the same episode. I remember gasping for breath from laughing so hard during "Bad News" and still fill up with tears thinking about the last twenty seconds of that particular episode. But I find myself disappointed with the final season of the show because the writers have become so consumed with the ending that they have lost sight of what made the show so special and poignant.
Great TV, great movies, great works of literature aren't about the ending; they're about the journey. I vividly remember the Saturday the UPS driver delivered the final book in the Harry Potter series. I was so excited to ignore my son and get lost in the book. But I paused after tearing open the package when I considered that this would be the end of my journey with Harry Potter. Instead of devouring the book in one setting, which of course was my initial plan, I took my time and frequently reminded myself to savor this last segment of his journey.
Great TV, great movies, and great works of literature don't just entertain, they instruct; they make us think. And the most important lesson I have learned from fine entertainment is the importance of enjoying the journey. But, it's also a lesson that I sometimes forget in my daily life. I'm a planner and sometimes spend too much time worrying, planning or daydreaming about the future. I constantly have to remind myself the importance of living in the present and enjoying the moment. I feel I have become especially aware of this as I watch my boys grow-up before my eyes.
As I watch my boys grow up, I am also well aware of how quickly time passes. Like everyone, I am aware of my own mortality; although, it's not a topic I like to dwell on for too long. In John Green's novel, The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel, the main character quotes her favorite author, who notes, "There will come a time when all of us are dead." Thankfully, I don't know when that will be the case for me. If I had that knowledge I would probably be more paralyzed than poor Hamlet by the decision of what to do next?
In the novel The Fault in Our Stars, the main character is so worried about her ending and the repercussions of her life ending, that she has spent most of her sixteen years without even living. Fortunately, she realizes a person should live and enjoy the journey without worrying about "what a slut time is [since] she screws everybody." She reflects at the end of the novel that it's possible to enjoy "a forever within the numbered days." What a beautiful notion--"a forever within the numbered days." Like everyone else on this planet, I know there will come a time when I cease to exist. But I also know I'm going to strive to enjoy the "forever within my numbered days" instead of worrying about the inevitable ending.
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