Is this the Good Place?

“All I've really ever wanted was to know what it feels like to be a human. And now we're going to do the most human thing of all. Attempt something futile with a ton of unearned confidence and fail spectacularly.” – Michael, The Good Place

I think The Good Place is one of the best shows gifted us from the brain of Mike Schur and that is sayings something. This blog is not meant, entirely, to be a plea to everyone who has not done so to watch it, but really you should if you haven’t. It somehow invites viewers to wrestle with moral and ethical philosophy, the why of our existence and the obligations contained within being human in the most accessible and hilarious way.

But today I am thinking of a particular line from one of the last episodes. Although I am tempted to provide way more context than necessary I’ll just set the scene with this: our main characters have fought long and hard to save the human race and during that struggle one character (Chidi) had to basically give up his memory of being part of the team (long story – watch it though, seriously). This sacrifice also meant he would forget the fact that he and Eleanor (our favorite Arizona dirtbag) had fallen in love (multiple versions of themselves, across multiple timelines too – Cheleanor are #goals). Before he gave up his memory, knowing he would forget all he had learned thus far as well as his love for Eleanor, he wrote himself a note that said:

There is no “answer”

But Eleanor is the answer

As an aside, to make sure I got the quote for the note exactly right I went back to watch that moment. I ended up watching like 5 episodes!

Anyway, I thought of this line after book group last night. Ten or so of us have been meeting weekly for the past month and a half to discuss Dominique Dubois Gilliard’s Subversive Witness (which I recommend with even more enthusiasm than The Good Place but ideally do both). Week to week we shared highs and lows, supporting and celebrating each other and considered the book which challenged us to examine how we leverage or lay down our privilege, how our faith calls us to counter-cultural ways of thinking and being and asked us to “name, address, and deconstruct the spiritual strongholds arresting the church and distorting our witness.”(introduction xvii)

This is my third time reading Subversive Witness and the second with a small group. I learned so much this time around. Everyone brought their unique thoughts, experiences and perspectives and together we discovered things we would not have on our own.

Even though so much of what we discussed was hard and we had misunderstandings and many shared frustrations we all learned and grew as a result not just of the book (which is amazing and one I cannot recommend strongly enough) but of everyone’s willingness to ask questions, share experiences and offer insights. Last night was our final meeting and it was like the others – encouraging, challenging and a little intense. Even though we have all shared how at various moments we have been discouraged by what is going on around us in the wide world and our own communities we found strength and hope in the fact that all of us were, in our way and with our own gifts and resources, trying our best to love well and build a better world.

As we shared how we thought we would go forward after this experience I was so thankful for the ideas, courage and optimism shared. That is why I thought of that Good Place quote – but I changed it a little:

There is no “answer”

But community is the answer

There is no one way to show up, stand up and speak out in light of the many injustices in our world today. We are all uniquely called and equipped. But however we do it, the fact that we do something is what matters and the way to find our something, to stay whole and able, to move with purpose and understanding, is to stay connected to and invest in communities of people who also want something better and are willing to be part of building it.

So thankful for the many communities like this I get to be part of and especially this book group!