Greetings, fellow OTF'ers and visitors from all places in the galaxy. This month is the 20th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi, and although there are those who haven't been converted, these are indeed exciting times.
I personally remember when I saw my first Star Wars movie and the excitement that I got from it. Seeing the graceful motions of a Jedi with a lightsabre, I could only imagine what it would be like. So I did the next best thing: I created a one of my own with a stick and paint. I would go all around the back yard of my home in our farming community, pretending to fight off all sorts of evil and villians. OH, the fun I had...
But as time went on, I began to learn something. The world of Star Wars isn't just a made-up world "in a galaxy far, far away...", but instead a direct reflection of many of the truths that we ought to hold dear to ourselves, many of the thoughts and deeds that we should practice within our lives. So I decided to put those down here...
Always do the right thing - You never know when it'll come back to you
In "A New Hope", Han came back at the last moment and did the right thing, which in this case was helping a friend in need. He was willing to do what it took, even sacrifice himself, to ensure that the nobel cause for which Luke and the Rebellion fought for happened. In "Return of the Jedi", Luke returned the favour and saved Han, something Han never thought would have been necessary in the beginning.
Be mindful of your feelings
There are times when we get angry, when we lash out in anger and only end up hurting others. Regardless of whether we meant those words or not, the things we do and say have a profound impact on those around us. If we would just take the time to think about what we say or do before we say or do them, we can have a positive impact on those around us.
LEARN things, don't just do them
When Luke first started out, he was brash and quick-handed. He saw his lightsabre not so much as a tool as he did a weapon. So he used it as such, and ended up almost crashing and burning, in regards to losing his hand. He finally learned his lesson, and began to learn about himself, his lightsabre, and learned to use it as an extension of himself.The lesson here is simply that when you go about doing something, learn all you can about it. Before you can run, you have to crawl and then walk; as such, you have to learn things slowly and completely before you can be as effective as possible.
and lastly...
Teamwork
Believe it or not, the rebellion didn't succeed because of a few people and their skills. The rebellion succeeded because it was comprised of a group of people who worked togther for a common goal. Such is a necessity of life: in order to do what must be done, we must be willing and ready to put aside our own wishes for power and glory and instead work with others... use their talents along with our own to work toward a common good. I personally have been a leader in many areas of my life, both in the RL arena and at OTF. The projects we did, the successes we had, were not a result of one person, but as a result of a group acting as one.
I hope that as you finish reading this, you will take a moment to reflect what I've written here, and hopefully take it into account within your lives - after all, we're all in this together, and you never know what we can accomplish.
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