THE LURE OF JEDIISM - CAN THAT REALLY BE A WORD?

#78 --- Jediism -- George Lucas is a nice guy. Let's not have him elroned.
- The Stooge, Top Hundred Time, 3-3-08


I've been thinking about this for a week... and I agree, let's not have George elroned, or celebrate the Sacred Month of May, or have his birthday made into a national holiday (although it should be)...

But I was thinking about the lure of the Jedi. They had the Force, and the Force gave them their powers, but it also gave them something more. The Force gave them inner peace, self-confidence, a purpose for living, and everlasting life.

Sound like a religion? Sure it does, but in the GFFA the Force was a proven fact, not just a happy idea taken on faith. It was only years of Palpatine's propaganda that turned it into a "hokey religion". They were not "mystics" or "magicians" they were just beings exercising a special talent.

Some people were given the gift of Force sensitivity, and others were not. Why? And how? Was it by chance? We see it is hereditary, so perhaps it skipped generations and popped up every now and then in a child, who then became a Jedi Knight. Perhaps it was at random. Perhaps it was "the will of the Force."

In the book form of ROTS, Obi-Wan describes the "will of the Force" as the explanation for that which could not be explained, comparing it to the will of a river to flow downhill. Beautiful words! Just as it is our will to be good or evil, the only two things we can really control.

It seems in our world, that some people are given the gift of faith, and others or not. I was not, and there's no changing that. And the old saying is true... if you don't have it, you can't understand the explanation, and if you do have it, you don't need an explanation.

The lure of Jediism (that can't be a word! ) is obvious. We all want inner peace, self-confidence and everlasting life. "Luminous beings are we!" But we are not all blessed with faith, or the emotional strength to obtain peace of mind.

But we don't have to be blessed with anything, like faith or midi-chlorians. The Jedi had the Force, but they still had to train themselves to feel it and use it. And how not to mis-use it. If I were to theoretically attain perfect peace of mind, it would not be of any use for me to stay inside my mind and keep myself company, for example. (The attaining of perfect peace of mind was the theoretical part, not the keeping myself company...)

I think for me the big fascination for the Jedi came from their ability to do everything right. That calm acceptance of their fate, be it life or death. The sureness of themselves. The light in Obi-Wan Kenobi's eyes at the moment he decided to sacrifice himself.

Somewhere in us all is the ability to achieve inner peace, to calmly accept our fates, to learn the difference between right and wrong, to let go of our selfishness for the greater good. We don't need the Force or faith to do these things.

To be at peace with ourselves, no matter what. To know that we are making the right choices. To know that our choices effect others, so that they may achieve their own inner peace.

That, my friends, is the attraction of the Jedi.