I saw Guardians of the Galaxy on Sunday and I really enjoyed it. It was fun, unpretentious, and had some of the qualities that made the original Star Wars trilogy awesome. Go see it if you haven’t already. It’s totally worth it.

As I perused the interwebs yesterday morning, I found that there was almost a sense of giddiness about the movie. Like something special had touched a lot of people. I thought on it a bit and I think Star Lord’s line sums it up perfectly, “I look around me and I see a bunch of losers!”

Guardians is about a rag-tag bunch of beings who bond over a shared experience. What they eventaully realize is that they also share a sense of loss. And, to me, that says a lot about real life. We gravitate to folks like us, even people who may not seem, from the outside, to be on the same wavelength. We all have that one friend that we look at and say, “How the hell did we ever become friends?” But at the same time, you know exactly why… and you wouldn’t give them up for the world.

You’ve shared that common thread. You’ve gone into (figurative or literal) battle together. Whether it was school, a job, or basic training. You sat in the trenches together and laughed in the face of fate. It didn’t matter that he’s a tree and you’re a very literal-minded homicidal maniac (you saw the movie, right?!). I imagine it’s why we keep certain friends from childhood throughout our lives. You may not remain in the same circles, but you’ll always have that shared experience.

And, over the years, we gather our team of misfits around us. Some of them get along. Others would rather not be on the same team, but they rally around you as you rally around others. You have your team of guardians and you are part of someone else’s team. They are the team we want to stand next to in the final battle. And, you love them, warts, furry tails, and all.