The numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. The plane: Oceanic Flight 815. The secret organization: Dharma. The characters: Jack, Kate, Locke, Sawyer, Jin, Hurley and Sayid.

The show: “Lost”.

But what does it all mean? The Others? The flashbacks? The creepy black blob? “Lost” is a show that would rather leave you guessing than answering questions any fan undoubtedly has. Still, the show draws hundreds of families to their couches every Thursday night.

And I’ll admit I’m just like the rest of America, I like “Lost”. Well, maybe that’s an understatement.

I guess religiously dissecting each episode for hidden insight and frantically checking “Lost” blogs and fan sites for leaked information is a little overboard. Not to mention that tattoo of Kate I got.

You get my point. “Lost” is an addictive show and over the many years of following it, I’ve finally come up with a theory that explains everything. The “survivors” on “Lost” are not survivors at all. They are all dead and actually in purgatory, a place people go instead of being sent to heaven or hell.

The people who died during the plane crash were sorted into heaven and hell, while a select few who survived were sent to the island where they were given one last chance to show their true self. I think that’s why the show is called “Lost”. Not because rescuers can’t find them, but because they are lost spiritually and emotionally.

And what better place to have these confused “survivors” solve their problems than on an uncharted island filled with unexplainable phenomena and psychotic natives? Even reality TV doesn’t get much better than that.

But this theory would be nothing without evidence to back it up. Exhibit A: There are no children on the island other than that Walt kid, but he creeps me out, so he doesn’t count. The absence of kids on the island agrees with my theory about the island because most kids are somewhat innocent and don’t have a whole lot of “unfinished business” to take care of.

Exhibit B: Does anyone remember in Season 2 when Boone died? It was right after he resolved some issues with his sister, therefore releasing him from purgatory.

Exhibit C: Remember when Jack first met Desmond on the bleachers? The last thing that Desmond said to him was, “We’ll meet up again in another life.” And what happens? They meet up again.

I guess none of us will know what’s really going on until the show ends in 2010. All I know is anything could happen. Jack may even wake up next to Eva Longoria on Wisteria Lane.

Then I’d be lost.