-Friedrich Nietzsche
Life can be a lot like space. At its finest, we seem to float above the fray on earth, bathe in the Milky Way and the stellar view of the planets, and admire the majesty of the stars. Nothing can hurt us up here; however, life is but a dream. Unfortunately, like space, life can be an isolating vacuum that swallows people in it's dark vastness. The truth is life is never fine enough to violate the law of gravity because a dead end job weighs us in the dirt; the truth is the stack of bills is too high to entertain any cosmic viewing; the truth is dreams of exploring uncharted planets supernova when faced with harsh realities. Despite setback after setback, we hold onto the simple law of faith: It has to get better. We trudge through inertia for better days because everyone in our orbit gets all the breaks: a great job, an awesome spouse, finding a twenty dollar bill in the parking lot. If it happens to them, its only a matter of time before it happens for us. The fight to hold onto faith is fierce; logic and best laid plans dictates the abandonment of faith but logic and best laid plans fail, only leaving faith. Faith whispers in the darkest there's meaning in pain when life hurts, fills the void in our souls when it becomes hollow; at least that's the story we want to believe.
Dr. Ryan Stone didn't have much faith. Despite her education and intelligence, inside she's broken. During her mission, disaster after disaster besets her. She trudges through losing her ship and her crew but after one too many obstacles, she hits a wall. Best laid plans convince her there's no way to get back to earth. Logic tells her there's no life for her back on earth; there isn't anyone waiting on her, no one will mourn her. Yet, faith knocks on the door and shows her there's another way; that something has been overlooked. Faith could have shown itself earlier but it's never too late to come bearing rewards. Faith shines brightest when there's obstacles to overcome. Good endings must be earned.
A stroll through the insane asylum may not prove faith but its very existence speaks to a level of hope. The idea isn't just to lock away people with mental illness for an infinite amount of time and throw away the key; through medication and treatment doctors hope they become better. Dr. Stone found the faith to continue because her life means something. Her journey of perseverance will help someone else trudge through their circumstances. Perseverance develops strength of character but this only comes through faith. Like space, life can be an isolating vacuum that swallows people in it's dark vastness. Life is not short on suffering but to live is to find meaning in the suffering. Finding meaning begins with having faith in a greater ideal: It has to get better. We must fight for better and only than do we earn the right to tell an incredible story.
