Life Lessons I Learned from Bones

Some years ago, I spent my summer vacation binge-watching Bones on Netflix. I had always heard of the show, seen promos for it, but it never really appealed to me. Though it had David Boreanaz who I knew and loved as Angel, I guess I always thought of it as another crime serial like NCIS or CSI. The concept didn't interest me, until the fated summer when I simply had nothing else to watch and decided to give it a whirl. At that point, Netflix had eight seasons, eight years worth of television, which I managed to watch in a little less than two months. I took less than half a season for me to become completely enveloped, completely obsessed with the world of Bones. I quickly learned this was no ordinary crime show. This show had heart.

You don't watch Bones for the crime solving, for the mysteries, for the blood, guts or gore. You may love those things, but you watch Bones for the characters. This is a show that will make you laugh and make you cry (I mean, Sweets, right?). You will become so emotionally invested in the relationships of this show you will start to forget these are fictional characters. Of course, the writers and creators do a brilliant job of placing these fictional stories in the realm of reality. Dr. Brennan even has her own Twitter account now. It is hard to avoid feeling like these characters are your friends, your extended family. After my binge, I came to deeply regret the fact that I had not watched this show sooner.

Now Bones begins its 11th and most likely final season on Thursday, October 1st, continuing its run as the longest running hour long drama in Fox Television history. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fangirl. I adore entertainment, and when a show like Bones comes along, I don't just enjoy it. I embrace it wholeheartedly. Like I've mentioned before, I believe that television, like any other art form, has the ability to instruct and inspire us. It can change us. 

I've decided to share some of the lessons that I have learned from Bones that have changed the way I see the world, if for no other reason than to introduce you to the beauty that is this show. 

Lesson 5.  “There is no such thing as objectivity. We are all just interpreting signals from the universe and trying to make sense of them. Dim, shaky, weak, static-y little signals that only hint at the complexity of a universe we cannot begin to understand.”  I find such comfort in the idea that in the wide expanse of the universe, we are all just trying to find our own truth. We're trying to solve the largest and most mysterious puzzle of all time. As a woman of faith, I feel blessed to believe that I have found some pieces of that puzzle, but I am not so naive as to think that I have it all figured out. I have come to embrace the belief that there are many out there who have figured out a lot of stuff I haven't yet, and I have much to learn from them. We are all just interpreting signals, whether through religion or science, but the beauty of life comes from receiving and doing our best to decipher those signals. That's the joy in the journey.

Lesson 4. "There's more than one kind of family." The characters at the FBI and the Jeffersonian form such a close bond that they quite literally become a family. They are willing to, and unfortunately some of them actually do, die for one another. They love each other unconditionally, through every problem imaginable. They stick together. It just goes to show you that no man is an island. No one can make it alone. We need a support system, and even if you weren't born into a solid family or even if you feel alone, you can become part of a family some other way. Coworkers can become friends. Partners can become lovers. Enemies can become allies. If you allow other people into your life, and place your trust in them, they can end up saving you.

Lesson 3. "Everything happens eventually." Well, all the good stuff. The key idea behind this quote is patience. It took six years for Booth and Brennan to finally get together, even though in season one you could tell it was meant to be. The characters needed time to grow and develop, to mature and learn as individuals. They, and the fans of the show, had to patiently work through that process so that after years of chasing each other, they could catch each other. The years of challenges as partners allowed them to work through very significant challenges as lovers, as parents, and eventually as husband and wife. They can withstand anything because they learned the value of patience, something I'm still trying to learn myself.

Lesson 2. "Sometimes you just have to dance to the music that's given to you." Bones masters the art of the plot twist. A beloved character turned baddie. An intern diagnosed with cancer. Main cast members killed off. If you can imagine it, Bones will go there. But as jarring as the changes are for us as viewers, it seems that the characters within the show seem to handle them in stride. They exemplify a belief that whatever comes your way, you've gotta deal with it and move on. After all, time will pass anyway. Whether you find happiness in the midst of difficulty is up to you.

Lesson 1. "No matter what the anthropological reasons, we fight to make the world a better place."  Finally, the  most important lesson of Bones, is that we have to fight against evil. We have to fight against hate. We have to find against murderers and terrorists and prejudice and lies and deceit and betrayal. We have to stand up for what's good and what's right. These characters live their lives in the line of fire every day. They are fearless, much like the writers of the show who do not shy away from tackling controversial, hard hitting social issues. They too strive to do their part to make the world a better place.

At the end of Season 10, Hodgins and Angela decided against moving to Paris in favor of staying in DC and solving crimes, placing their personal desires on hold indefinitely in favor of performing their duty to humanity. Booth and Brennan walked away from the FBI and the Jeffersonian respectively, but I've got a sinking feeling that their duty to humanity will draw them back into the world of solving murders and catching bad guys. That is kind of their thing, after all.

Bones Season 11 premieres Tuesday, October 1st on Fox.

Image courtesy of Fanpop.