it's the little things

being a lifelong geek there are moments in may life where validation comes in the most unexpected ways. let me explain.as i grew up in the late eighties/early nineties one of the most influential shows i watched was star trek the next generation. now my fascination with the show went far beyond fan boy geekery - i have always had a deep longing to understand my universe better. you see what made it such a compelling show is that it dealt with a great deal of philosophical ideas - from the origin of life, to the existing of all possible worlds, to the limits of human expression.in the episode "chain of command" the lead character, captain picard is capture by an enemy and forced into extreme psychological torture - being told that if he was to simply say that he saw five lights all of the pain would end (in actuality there where only four lights) - picard never broke.what this episode explores is the resilience and the toughness of the human spirit - the immense strength that we possess inside. you see God designed us with a resilient spirit, an unbreakable soul. nowhere is this more evident than the book of Job. at the end of job's story we are meant to realize two things - God is beyond our comprehension and no one can take our spirit or souls - we can only give them away.it is that same message that picard delivers at the end of that episode as he defiantly says to his captors as he is rescued "there are four lights!"the other day i was playing world of warcraft, yes i roll like that, and i came across a character in the game who, when i interacted with him, said only, "there are four lights!"with God, often it's the little things...