"I told you to stop and ask for directions- no we're LOST!" by Jacob

I will start this with I am an agnostic. I do not believe nor not believe in God- I have no ability to understand what God could even be. I do not believe your religion is right and I do not believe you’re religion is wrong. I believe the stained glass windows at the church scene (and the draws from many religions) points to the same conclusion- and that of Ghandi- “all roads to ‘God’.”

At first, I was very upset with the end. Then after thinking about it last night- and all day today- I have come to the conclusion that I loved it. I think, as many people do, that season 6 had some problems; there were some things that needed to be explained better and it felt a little cramped without the typical lost cohesion. Even though things didn't always make sense at first in the earlier seasons, everything sort of fit together like puzzle pieces later. This season it felt like it jumped around- more than normal- with little contextual connections to the other things at play. It sort of felt like what I remember about college- a late night cram session.

However!!

After thinking about it I feel like the "missing puzzle" pieces is what makes it exciting. Many times we think about things so much that we lose sight of the big picture. Many famous musicians- or athletes winning their respective prizes- always say it's about the journey. You dream of one day being at the mountain top- but once you get there you realize it was all about the journey.

I think that had Darlton gave us answers to every last thing- it would have taken away from the main point. This story was about Life. We try to understand religion, science, etc in life and we never fully understand it. Sure, as time goes on more and more is learned- even after our own personal deaths. However, these things are infinite. If you think about Ben, we thought he was all knowing. He wasn't. He knew a finite amount. In fact it was those that came after him that ended up knowing more than he did. So, one could assume that if the story line of Hugo as the new Jacob continued for us- those new candidates would learn more than the Losties. It's just progress.

As limited beings, we will never fully understand our world, our lives. What is the purpose of life? Without death- the purpose of life would be incredibly different, no? I think that Richard is the perfect example- the grey hair made him say something like "I think I want to live now."

I digress... we try to use science and religion to make sense of our world. However, what Lost is trying to tell us is that how can we understand life when we don't even understand ourselves? It's tragedy and beauty rolled up into one. In Lost, it's almost as if when they fully let go and embrace the flaws and except a higher purpose- they move on. There is no more life- over - it's complete. You’re eye closes and you walk into the light. You could say it's tragic because flawed- Lost- people can now be found and free to live their lives better. The point of life is to find one's self, and once found, there is a better place.

I think that Darlton has left it up to us to interpret what that "better place is". Some may say heaven, some may say reincarnation. I think that what I feel is the most textured and layered explanation is this:

We've seen people die. Jack, Boone, Shannon, Locke, Sayid, Charlie the Kwons, etc. I think that the point is that once these people let go- they moved on. Boone moved on from Shannon, Shannon finally felt loved, Locke became someone, Sayid overcame his darkness and let his love prevail, Charlie let go of his heroin addiction, and the Kwons learned to stop running away and embraced just being together.

Others, like Michael, Anna Lucia, etc.. they died without finding retribution. You saw glimpses of them trying to overcome their tortured beings, but were cut short of being able to fully realize it.

Which leads us to the ATL.. what was that? Was it purgatory? Was it the afterlife? I don't believe it was either. Purgatory is a place or means for retribution. This is more what the souls of Michael and Anna Lucia are experiencing. The ATL was the collective unconsciousness of the Losties' souls. When Christian said that there is not a "now" in the alt- I believe that what he was saying was that at that moment their "end and their beginnings" all culminate and emerge at the same time. For some they were experiencing that ‘ahha’ moment in the first season (Boone). For some it was happening in the now (Jack). For other's it was happening in the future (Hurley). In this place they all died at the same “time” and they will all be born at the same time. Our perception of time is linear and chronological—and yet these scenes show us it is not. It just is a place where it happens- and it happens nearly at the same "time" for all that we are bound to-- for they all are bound to eachother to the next life. Example is that Juliet dies and realizes her rebirth in the context of conversation with Sawyer and going Dutch. And most importantly Jack lying in the bamboo forest while he “awakens” at the casket.

I say next life - and not a heaven - because Christian says to Jack that he is real. They are all real. Their beings are real. Their transformation to the next life is about to happen. They will move on together through the light, and the rebirth to the next life or level. Here they will need to grow, mature, learn a heightened wisdom, deeper meaning, and yet simultaneously still cling to their own humility as they did in our world. They grow, but they still are flawed. This process will continue on from life to life and world to world. They will mature and adapt just as the wonders of their worlds will ( I loved the recap that draws this out nicely).

You can almost think of it as a hierarchy of needs (7 worlds of the Hopi). That once we fulfill a need or understanding we are ready for our next task and our next world. Only when all those tasks are all complete can we become an intelligent being- and until then we are Lost in our infinite naiveté. Here in lies the beauty of not knowing all the secrets of the island. If you get lost in that- you lose sight of the true meaning, just as you would lose sight in the real world if you tried to figure it out all at once. You need to move on and you need to grow as you progress through the stages.

This raises the ultimate Lost question: what world are we in? Are we in the first world? Are we in the our last world? Or, are we in ATL waiting for our own personal group of Losties to join us in moving on to the next world? At the chance of sounding cliché with a terrible Matrix reference- is there more to our moments of déjà vu? Are we living in an ATL waiting until the lightning strikes us and we realize the beauty of the life that we had previously lead? And the beauty with which we are about to begin?