The Zen-ish Lessons of “Life” (video)

Dr. Misty Hook, medium.com; Alan Watts The Way of Zen; Ashley Wells (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

One of my favorite TV shows is a little-watched gem from 2007 called, quite simply, Life. I originally started watching it because it starred Damian Lewis (enjoyable in Band of Brothers), but soon I got hooked on the show itself.

On the surface, the show was an entertaining police procedural with a Zen Buddhist twist. What the show actually was about is how to deal with the curve balls life throws. As a psychologist, I appreciate that.

The show centers around Charlie Crews (the Damian Lewis character), a police officer who spent 12 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

AUDIOBOOK: The [Taoist]Way of Zen by Alan Watts

Originally he had a life sentence, but when it was discovered through DNA testing that he couldn’t have done it, he got out of prison and was given his life back; ergo, the play on words in the title of the show.

Because of the error, Crews was given a $50 million settlement and the opportunity to return to the police force as a detective.

As one might imagine, spending 12 years in prison for something you didn’t do would make a person bitter and full of vengeance. One of the interesting things about the show, however, is that Crews doesn’t fall into that trap.

He admits that he was angry for the first few years, especially since he endured a lot of beatings (ex-cops are extremely unpopular inmates) and a lot of time in solitary in order to keep him safe.

But it was while he was in solitary that he became interested in Zen Buddhism. He allowed this Eastern philosophy to heal his spirit, and it helps him adjust to life on the outside as well.

Throughout the first season, Crews listens to a Zen tape while driving on patrol. In fact, listening to Crews spout off his “Zen-ish” wisdom to the ever-present disgust of his partner is one of the funnier parts of the show.

If one actually listens to the message in the quotes though, they are a lot more than mere entertainment. They also contain a lot of wisdom. More