I’ve fallen in love with Downton Abbey. Some might say I’m a bit later to the festivities, as the show ran from 2010-2015. Better late, than never!

I’ve pulled three themes from this show that I think are vitally important for those of us who are wanting to hold on to hope in the midst of a culture that seems to continually be at war.

If you’re not familiar with the show, it’s one of television’s grandest and most-awarded productions. It’s very British and would resemble other shows you might see on PBS, except this one was outrageously popular and had a huge budget.

From Wikipedia: The series, set on the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey between 1912 and 1926, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era, and the effects the great events of the time have on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.

Why Do I Love This Show So Much (and why am I writing about it)?

What is about this show that has me so enraptured… and seriously wanting to find some kind of tour that will trolley me around all the show’s scrumptious locations, hopefully in an antique 1913 Open Rolls-Royce like this one?

The cinematography of the show’s interiors and exteriors is stunning. The acting is top rate. I’ve fallen in love with Mary & Matthew, Anna & Bates, Tom & Sybil, Mrs. Hughes & Mr. Carson… for starters. The storyline is sophisticated, yet easy to follow. The music… ahhhh, the music. The writing? Oh my heavens… it’s tremendous, with my favorite lines being the non-stop bickering between the pretentious and always-right Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham and the more grounded, Isobel Crawley. Do they find ways to weave this fictional story together with real world events happening? Yes. It’s all so well done. But here are the three main themes I pulled from the show that I believe are super important for us today:

• There is so much love in this show.

This is a show about family, not only the family upstairs, but the family downstairs. But it’s not syrupy treacle. It’s a love (when one is thinking clearly) that stands up for one another. It’s a love that will keep a secret, but then will probably end up telling it in order to protect the person. It’s a complicated love that often gets irritated, but then apologizes or forgives.

We may never be able to erase our differences… especially our differences of opinion, but can remain committed to being people who continually seek understanding and reconciliation.

• There is so much humanity in this show.

The show doesn’t skirt around very human issues we all go through, regardless of whether you’re an upstairs or downstairs person. Jealousy, anger, abuse, racism, agism, pregnancy problems, being wrongly accused and having people lose trust in you, self-hatred based on sexual orientation, wanting to please your parents while still trying to forge your own way in life… just to name a few that come to the top of my head.

It’s easy to feel all alone in your personal struggles, especially when the rest of the world continually puts on a shiny, Instagram-worthy face. We find commonality in our shared struggles, and are given opportunities to express compassion and love to those we relate to in unique and beautiful ways.

• There is so much hope in this show.

The arc of the show, with its timeframe of just before and after the first World War, follows one family as an example of the upper-classes struggle to survive financially. They are facing decisions about how to keep the Abbey going—whether to continue in their opulence, or find ways to help society (besides just hiring servants) to grow beyond simply the status quo. The strong thread of hope I feel is not only rooted in love, redemption, and reconciliation, but in the quest to keep moving ahead.

It’s important for us to keep asking questions about how can we all thrive, and not just our selves. To be willing to ask questions about what customs or traditions are no longer necessary, or no longer serving anyone, and search for new paths that will keep the “family” together, without the baggage of “but that’s what we’ve always done!” Hope comes alive when we work to make this world a better place for all us.

I’d love to hear what themes you might have pulled from the show if you’ve watched it. And if you haven’t… better late than never!

Downton Abbey can be watched on Amazon Prime.

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