LIFE OR DEATH

What would you choose: life or death?

Probably 99.9 percent of us would choose life.

But what if you were so troubled that you felt that in death you would receive new life?

This is the contradiction that is the daily headlines. Suicide bombers attack innocent people under the belief that they will have a better life in afterlife. Some teens under horrible torment of bullies, self-esteem issues, too high expectations and peer pressure weigh that option.

There is also the question of faith. Individuals believe in either an afterlife or not. People hope that there time on earth has a more infinite meaning.

LOST attempted to explore those themes.

It is hard to tell whether Locke convinced himself that he was better off killing himself than trying to help the island or his friends. Recall, he basically mucked up everything in his life, including his relationship with Helen and Jack, who he considered his rival and probable best friend.

It is hard to tell when Sayid came to the conclusion that he was better off dead when he took the submarine bomb and tried to leave the ship. Recall, he had lost his Nadia, then Shannon, in tragic accidents. He was an outsider and an outcast. He may have gotten along with a few island castaways, but he never fit in.

In the big picture of LOST, the writers did dance around to the side that there is hope in death.

The sideways world has to be considered a lukewarm attempt to show the afterlife as a continuation of the human lives we all live, day to day. The sideways purgatory or weigh station to paradise/heaven mocked the same struggles of real life, but with no lasting consequences except perhaps feelings of personal regret or remorse (as with Ben who decided to "stay" on to work out some of his issues with Rousseau and Alex). But that is the odd part about LOST's vision - - - each individual is his or her own judge and jury on what sort of afterlife they will be rewarded by the unknown gods (such as Jacob, MIB, the island, or some other supernatural power).

Though we were told that the island contained the power of life, death and rebirth, the sideways world showed us that it was each individual who controlled their own destiny.