1. Sometimes, you can never go back. We saw it in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, when Frodo returned to The Shire after his quest. He tried to return to life as it was before, but after all that he had experienced, he couldn't, and wound out sailing to the West. We saw it in the close of The Inheritance Cycle, where, after the enemy was finally defeated and peace was restored, Eragon elected to retreat to a realm outside of Alagasia because he needed time to process all that had happened to him on his own journey. We even saw it in the close of The Clone Wars when, after she was acquitted of murder, Ashoka refused the offer to return to The Jedi Order because "I have to work things out on my own now." Sometimes, the journey affects us in ways that makes it impossible to go back to the same old, same old. The hurts are too deep to fully heal, as it was with Frodo. The changes you go through are too big, and you aren't the same person, like with Eragon. You've see too much that you didn't know and need time to figure out who you are, as with Ashoka. I know these are the endings that readers/viewers don't like, but sadly it is reality sometimes. I know I've been through experiences that left me a different person, and I can say from experience that some things shift your paradigm too much to stay the person you were.
2. Yes, angels are sent to protect us, but it's best to stay out of their way. If you watch the TV series Supernatural, you know that angels haven't always been portrayed in the best light. While I'll admit that I believe the show creators have taken some literary license on their interpretation, I also feel that they're more right on some things than we'd be comfortable with admitting. You are aware that those beautiful angels in fur-lines robes that you see in the stores now are 100% fiction, right? Angels are warriors, and I can tell you that they aren't playing harps and singing all day. They're fighting demons and keeping us safe (both from the forces of hell against us and the messes we get ourselves in). And in case you haven't thought about it, they see all of creation (this world and "the next"), and they don't have the gift of free will. You better believe that their methods (if we knew them) would probably seem somewhat harsh and tough at times because their perspective is radically different from anything that we could possibly know or understand. Take a look in The Bible, and everybody that saw an angel fell on their face out of reverential fear. Yes, I believe angels are good. Yes, I believe they protect us. Yes, I love them. But I know well enough that they don't have time for mundane human crap when they're fighting the forces of hell. So I offer them my utmost respect, and get out of the way so they can do their job.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I refuse to put an angel on top of my Christmas tree, or to have them on my Christmas cards. They don't have time for that.
3. Fear is the greatest monster we face. I wasn't as impressed with The Green Lantern movie as I hoped to be, but they hit on an indisputable fact: the worst thing humanity faces is fear. Fear causes more problems than any other thing in this world. It keeps us from doing what we should be doing and puts us in ruts we aren't meant to be in. Fear is a trap that kills us slowly, from the inside out. The only way to have the life of fullness and abundance that we're supposed to have is to find our courage and move forward, despite our fear. And that is the hardest thing in the world to do.
4. Some people can't be saved. This is one I really don't like to admit, but sadly it's true. And while I've experienced the frustration of trying to help people and having them reject it, it took Arrow, the CW series now in it's second season, to realize that it's not personal, it's just fact. This really hit home when Detective Lance told Thea Queen that "The Hood" (as they called him in Season 1) had sent 26 people to his morgue, and that was two episodes before the season finale. I shuddered at that, because he was being marked as a killer and yet those were 26 people that he wanted to turn over to justice, but the circumstances didn't allow it - they tried to kill him or others in their escape.
This is an extreme example, of course. Most of us don't deal with organized crime or defending ourselves or others in life or death situations. But we do deal with trying to help people, and they reject our help, just to come to harm later. People reject our advice. They slap away a helpful hand. They deny those trying to help them to a better way, because correction hurts and they're comfortable with their own way, no matter how it hurts them or others. And really, as much as it hurts, we shouldn't be surprised. Even Jesus couldn't save them all. Why should we think we deserve a better track record?
5. Sometimes, the best way to flush out a leak is to flood it. When you suspect there's a busybody, traitor, or blabbermouth in your midst, the natural inclination is to zip it up and confide in a close circle of friends. And indeed, this is advice that I accepted - until I started watching Game of Thrones. Do you remember the time Tyrian Lannister suspected that someone on The Small Council was leaking things to the Queen (who was also his sister), so he told each member that he planned to marry off her daughter to a different person, then waited to see which one she chewed him out about? The guy he caught didn't think it was funny, but every other member of the council had to admit that it was a very clever ploy and they admired it. I did too, so I've tried it a few times. Folks, it works like a charm. And in this day of technological advances in communications, it works in about 2-4 hours. It's not a trick to overdo, and you certainly don't want to throw anything "real" that needs to remain under discretion. But throw out a tidbit here or there, and see what comes back. You'd be surprised at how fast people forget to play coy when they're hit with something unexpected that sets off their alarm bells.
Yes, it's amazing what you can learn from fiction. And maybe that's why we love it - because sometimes, we can learn valuable things about reality.
That's all today. Take care, and have a great week.