Today was another resting day. Time to think. Time to talk. Time to watch Gilligan’s Island – a show I have never seen before.
This old black and white show is about a group of tourists that get stuck on a desert island after their tour boat gets swept up by a storm. What was supposed to be a Three Hour Tour (the show’s theme song), turned into three seasons of shenanigans.
I have only seen a couple episodes of this show, so don’t know how it ends (no spoilees) but so far there are a few things that are relatable.
Get Away
Gilligan’s Island takes this to the extreme, but sometimes you have to get away to start to grow. Old patterns and ways of life have no choice but to giveaway when you find yourself in a new place and a completely different set of circumstances. In Greece, it has been freeing to not be around all of my friends and family that are pregnant, and I have been feeling more and more free to move on from the grief of medical trauma and trying to get pregnant. I don’t have a good reason for it besides being away is like forcing yourself to breath new air, new ideas, new habits. I would highly recommend.
Humor
Yes, it is an old tv show where all of the problems are a little cartoonized, but think about this. Lost and Gilligan’s island are both about a bunch of people that get stuck on an island. Gilligan’s Island approaches this trope with humor – Lost approaches this trope with intense confusing drama. I prefer Gilligan’s Island.
Yes, there is a space for intense dark places. But, man if the world doesn’t already have enough of this. As kids we are taught about the world and how to engage through play. This has always been fascinating to me. Through the ages and generations the way we develop our concepts about ourselves and the world around us is through playing. Then, somewhere along the way that method of learning and growing is ripped away from us. I feel like humor and fun should still be a key way for adults to interact with their world. It could be cynical, sure. Often, cynical humor is hilarious and promotes bonding from like trauma. Love it.
Somewhere along the way it seems like fun got lost out of our toolbox of coping – and we should probably bring it back.
Rarely Do We End Up Where We Were Going
A three hour sightseeing tour turned into three seasons of trying to survive on a deserted island through teamwork, learning, and humor.
If this isn’t a great metaphor for life.
How often have we started out in one direction, expecting to end up at a specific destination? Probably more often than not. How often have we ended up on the destination we intended. Rarely, if you are anything like me. We went of birth control expecting to get pregnant within a couple months. Three years later, here we are in Greece.
When I was about 10 my grandma took my brother and I on a walk along the coastline. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the ocean danced along the cliffs below us as we walked. We didn’t notice. All we wanted to know was “Where are we going?”. We asked that same question every minute or so. Grandma had such patience. All she would say was “Sometimes, it is not about the destination. It is about the journey.”
We didn’t believe her, so we kept pestering her for the destination anyway.
Of course, as adults, now we both love the long walks and hikes with no destination. It took some time, but we have learned – the journey, the middle parts, the places you get to when you don’t get where you were going or got lost along the way, the places you get to when you had no destination, these are the the places that make life worth the living.
When you have no plan (or are willing to accept that when your plan eventually fails it will be okay) – every stop, every moment can be a part of your story and your journey.
A plan just lets you leave the dock and come back. If something deviates from that, all you will do is think about getting back to where you were or where you thought you were supposed to be.
A journey lets you leave, get caught up in a storm, get stuck, make friends, try and find a way back, fail a little bit, succeed a little bit, eat coconuts, and learn some more about yourself – regardless if you ever make it to where you were going. This is better. Because the truth is – regardless of where you were going, you are exactly where you need to be. So be.