This article is a Guest Post about Joan of Arcadiacontributed by Robert Schwartz, author of Your Soul’s Plan:Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born.
One of my all-time favorite TV shows is Joan of Arcadia. The series is available on DVD. I recently watched the first season again and found it just as touching, funny and insightful as I did when it first debuted on television.
In this sweet, divinely inspired show, the main character Joan (Amber Tamblyn), a high school student, keeps meeting God in many different guises: an old woman at a bookstore; the telephone line repairman; the lunch lady in the school cafeteria; the rebellious peer at school. In each instance, God asks something of Joan, always something Joan does not want to do. When the request is first made, Joan cannot see the workings of the Divine Mind. God’s request appears – and is – completely illogical to her. Yet, as Joan consciously chooses trust over fear, she allows God to work in and through her. And as she does, she brings light into the world.
This is, indeed, the way the Universe works. Divine Will arises within us as an impulse, a feeling that we want to do something, a sense (often illogical) of what steps we need to take. Unaware that these impulses have a Divine origin, most of us then reason ourselves out of the impulse, deferring instead to the voice of the fear-based ego that seeks to protect us.
The intelligent story lines in Joan of Arcadia make clear just how intimately connected all lives are. As Joan listens to and follows the suggestions of God, she touches one life, which then touches another, which then touches another . . . until
an intricate, elaborate web of connection is revealed for all to see. Joan is then blessed with something most of us will see only in our life review: the profound impact we had on others.
Joan of Arcadia beautifully illustrates how Divine Will wants to and will work through us to enlighten the world – if only we will allow.
This post was written by Robert Schwartz. Robert is the author of Your Soul’s Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born. A free PDF with a large sample of the book is available on Mr. Schwartz’s web site at www.yoursoulsplan.com.
You can purchase Joan of Arcadia on DVD on Amazon if you Click Here