Tis the Season?

Ecclesiastes, one of the least upbeat prophets of the Old Testament, really had a way with words. Sometimes you don't know whether you should be comforted by what he says or depressed! But his words found their way into a popular song, "Turn, Turn, Turn." And so we all can probably sing, "For everything, turn, turn, turn..." What is it then that made me think of this as we get ready to head into the Holiday season?

Well, I think it is important to take a deep breath and enjoy these seasons in our lives and in our calendars. We are all told that we are overbusy, and so we tend to confirm this by filling out our schedules and stressing ourselves out. We barely finish eating the leftover Halloween candy and our Turkey leftovers are tossed out to make room for the Christmas ham or roast beef.

How can we find time to honor the rhythm of our own lives if we have forgotten how to mark out the rhythm of the world around us? The reason for the title of this post is to really ask you to think about what "season" is your life in right now? To consider this, let's take a brief walk through the recent film, Knocked Up.

In case you missed this late-summer comedy, Knocked Up deals with two young people, Ben and Alison. Both are dealing with new rising careers. Alison, who works at E! television, has just been promoted to an on-air position. Ben is about to launch his new website...soon....any day now...once the research is complete. And one night when Alison goes out to celebrate with her sister she kind of knocks into Ben and the two "hook up." Because this is Hollywood, and the story needs to move along, they end up going to her place. In a moment of alcohol-induced stupor, Ben tosses caution to the wind and they have unprotected sex. The nuclear fallout of this "day after" appears the next morning when they both realize what has happened. And, of course, Alison soon discovers (after taking a 100 or so home pregnancy tests) that she is pregnant.

Now, the interesting thing to me while watching this film was how the characters all are trying to figure out where they are in their lives. Alison's sister has a home, family, and little or no mystery left in her life. She has to control everything in order to maintain this stability but she is insecure about her life and feeling like she is missing something. Her husband is left trying to figure out is he a dad, a husband, just a guy looking for a hobby, etc. The manboys that live with Ben are living the high life, so to speak. We don't seem to know how they are able to afford a home with a pool in California, but somehow they are able to have this and maintain a "heady" life style. But they are stuck in the season between being a boy and being a man, and each are scared and confused about what that might mean to move to the next stage of life. (They kind of are a Greek chorus of sorts if you think about!). Each character's parents are given a brief scene to provide alternative "older" and seasoned perspectives.

With Alison's pregnancy, Ben is suddenly thrust into the ambiguity of what and who he is. Alison also has to think about this life-changing situation. Neither seem to be concerned at first about the life they have created together, though this really does change quite soon.

What fascinated me about this film was that in the midst of all this, Ben and Alison, discover the season of young adulthood that is fraught with its pitfalls and opportunities. And they must discern what gives them life and joy. The final birth of their child is filmed with this tension in mind as well. Each season of Alison's immediate life has to adapt to a new rhythm and it must also find a way to connect with that of her vocation and Ben's life. Likewise, Ben has to make some personal decisions about his life that he has ignored up until now...which his father allows to be reflected back to him in their scenes together. This film is a reminder to celebrate the season of life we are in, receive the surprises and rhythm in a way that brings us back into a more real daily living. It is perhaps no accident that both of the characters are involved in the distracting industries of entertainment (television and the internet) which often try to keep us from the very interactions we all crave.

Seasons are signposts for us. Times to acknowledge and connect to our pasts and our futures. Times to mark the gathering of the harvest, its bounty, and the inevitable gifts that follow. Seasons allow us to pause, reflect, and consider how our actions and decisions impact one another. We can mark this time coming up to Thanksgiving, with moments of reflection and gratitude, but until we know what season of our own lives we are living in it might be a bit difficult.

So this week, take a moment to reflect about where you are in your own life: high school, college, newlywed, divorced, expecting a child, heading off to Iraq, returning home, graduating, homeless, jobless, or recently hired. It is a time to fill in the blank of your life: tis the season to be....