Tom Makes Me Think

TOM (SOLOS) – Season 1, Episode 2

Tom has leukemia and his demise is fast approaching. He’s spent $30k to buy Tom-2, a robot that will take over his life on earth after he passes.  He doesn’t want his wife to be alone. He wants his family to feel comfortable, almost like he has never left. Such is Tom's goal in this sci-fi video.

Starting out, Tom’s relationship with his ‘double’ is very tense. Human Tom decides that he wants his money back from the company that sold him his dream of immortality-through-robotic-proxy.

Things eventually calm.  Tom is told that his life isn’t spreadsheets and calculations or bank accounts and planning. He’s told these things are nothing, just algorithms. So, when the discussions move towards the important stuff, the ‘personal’ stuff, an imaginative story becomes intriguing.

So many questions!

1. What if you planned to ‘pass your life' to another? 
2. What if you needed to tell your replacement all the personal details of your life – even your secrets?
3. Who is it that you think you are?
4. How would you describe yourself?
5. How would others describe you?
6. Who do you think you’d like to be?
7. If you knew that you were going to do this at some future but inevitable time, what would you want to change?
8. Would you?

It seems that these questions might have come up before. It's time to think, ponder, consider, and even closely examine.  It's time to be in a quiet place and test the boundaries of self-awareness.

I remember an exercise where participants were asked to write their own obituaries and even eulogies. I think this was a way to ask tough questions. Are we the person we think we are?  If someone else were asked to write about our personhood, would it reflect the image we have of ourselves? Might it be complementary, or could it be contradictory?

In other words, we have self-perception that says we are a person who ________ (fill in the blank if you dare). Would others use the same admirable (I assume) adjectives? 

Maybe you think that an exercise like writing your own eulogy or even the shorter, published obituary is a waste of time and energy. But even Jesus asked similar questions.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"  Matthew 16: 14-17

In my thought process today, I am focused on just a piece of what is probably a massive undertaking. We are complex beings. We sometimes do the right thing for the right reasons, and sometimes for the wrong reasons. We sometimes want to do the right thing, but (like Paul) do the wrong thing. We are not perfect - never will be.

But if we follow Jesus, if we don't just 'believe' but actually follow Him, then those others?  The ones who will eventually write our obituaries? I hope and pray that they will have noticed a difference in my life between believing and following. 

Of course, in addition to considering what others think or say of us after we've taken our last breath, there is always that final judgment to think about.  But that's for another day!

Yeah - next week I should spend more time on uplifting reflections.  See you then!