Being Human

It is sometimes from unlikely sources that we are reminded what it is to be human...happy...content, and it is such a pleasure when these things come to us unexpectedly.  When I picked up Jordan Peterson's book "12 Rules for Life" I expected to find those reminders, and yes, I do recommend it.  It is a great read (or listen - as I tend to enjoy most of my "light reading" on audible or some such technology.  Mr. Pederson gives us lots of food for thought in these pages, there are many comments, summaries, reviews on the internet, but I highly suggest you just get the book.  So that was the expected insights on being human....happy....content, but my evening entertainment turned into a very thoughtful experience.  You are going to chuckle, but the Netflix series "The Good Place" made me laugh, and cry (spoiler alert).  When I had finished the 4 seasons, and reflected on how entertaining it was, I started to think about all of the lessons the writers, producers, and cast put into that show - without it being a documentary, and without preaching at us.  Besides a bit of exploding goo, and some references to torcher, it wasn't graphic, or gruesome, but it also wasn't sickly sweet.  In the end it was just people learning about how they interact with others, how they affected others, all the while feeling as though they were good people.  I don't know how people of different faiths would react to this show, they did a great job of avoiding terms like "heaven" and "hell".  No one can curse in The Good Place so we heard "Fork" a lot from the main character. They also did a good job of not depicting God, or Angels, and at the end of it all it just came down to how do we get to the good place, how do we make this place better, and we should appreciate all the wonderment of being human.   We do effect others, and they effect us.  It would be nice to hear others opinions on "12 Rules for Life" and "The Good Place" or if you have happened upon something that resonated with you, (or surprised you:) let me know - always open to uplifting, positive suggestions.