"...[N]ot getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck."
--The Dalai Lama
I have been on an Eli Stone jag as of late. After finishing the first season, I started trolling the internet for comments and commentary from other Eli fans and came across a site that purported to have the inside scoop on what would have happened had the show made it beyond a second season.
The news, my friends, was not good.
For those of you not familiar with Eli Stone, let me bring you up to speed: Eli Stone was a two-season comedic drama about a young lawyer who has it all - a successful career as a corporate lawyer, a hot car and a beautiful fiancé - when he starts having visions (many of them starring George Michael).
These visions tell him what cases to take and how to win them. But these aren't the cases he is used to trying. The force behind these visions has a different plan for Eli and he is now the champion of the little guy, the underdog, the people being hurt by the corporate giants he formerly defended.
[SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen the show yet, click on over to Netflix or Hulu and start streaming before you read on....the following blog entry contains information you will not want to know if you plan to watch the show.]
When I first started watching it, this show blew me away. It was the first time that The Universe or God had been handled in such a way on TV. Usually God is handled in one of two ways - completely traditionally with church and prayer or avoided altogether - Eli Stone's vision of God was unique in the history of television, at least television as I knew it.
And I was hooked.
Unfortunately, not enough other people were and the show was canceled after only two seasons.
Luckily for us faithful viewers, the producers of the show knew that it was going to be canceled and were able to do a quick "wrap up" in the final episode, uniting Eli with his soul mate, and fellow attorney with a conscience, Maggie Decker.
Luckily for us faithful viewers, the producers of the show knew that it was going to be canceled and were able to do a quick "wrap up" in the final episode, uniting Eli with his soul mate, and fellow attorney with a conscience, Maggie Decker.
In an earlier episode Eli had witnessed a scene ten years in the future featuring him and Maggie and their newborn baby. It was confirmation for him, and for us, that what we hoped was true - he and Maggie were destined to be together, someday, somehow.
Except...
In this interview with the creator of the show he reveals where he was planning to take the show and - WHAT!?!?! - it was not his plan for Eli and Maggie to end up together. In fact, Maggie ends up with Eli's brother Nate (who has already dated the woman Eli lost his virginity to), and Eli ends up....DEAD???
He doesn't come right out and say it, but implies that eventually the plan was to kill off Eli.
I know that this is just a television show, but it brought to mind this quote and made me grateful that the show was canceled after only two seasons. The show's faithful viewers got our happy ending and so did Eli and Maggie.
It also reminded me of a certain Buddhist fable, sometimes called, "Maybe." It goes something like this:
Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer
(I got this version from awakeblogger.com.)
As on television, so it is in life: you just never know what comes next. Maybe the way things ARE is the way they are meant to be. The way you would want them to be even, given 20/20 hindsight.
Maybe NOT getting what you (thought) you wanted, is a brilliant stroke of luck. Maybe.
Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer
(I got this version from awakeblogger.com.)
As on television, so it is in life: you just never know what comes next. Maybe the way things ARE is the way they are meant to be. The way you would want them to be even, given 20/20 hindsight.
Maybe NOT getting what you (thought) you wanted, is a brilliant stroke of luck. Maybe.
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