I came across another interesting SW article at Suite 101. It's by Paul McDonald (yes, him again) and it talks more about the concept of grace, but I found that the more important aspects actually apply to me. Quoted some excerpts below:

... Eugen Herrigel, a German professor who studied archery with a renowned Zen master in Japan for twelve years. Though the master spoke very little, when he was once directly confronted by his pupil about the right techniques and so on, he replied, "The right art is purposeless, aimless! The more obstinately you try to learn how to shoot the arrow for the sake of hitting the goal, the less you will succeed in the one and the other will recede. What stands in your way is that you have a much too willful will. You think that what you do not do yourself does not happen."

.....

After reading such a story, one can hardly help recalling the training sequence in The Empire Strikes Back when Luke is rebuked by Yoda as he strains with his own exertion to lift his X-Wing fighter out of the Dagobah swamps. He pushes and pulls at the Force until he finally exhausts himself, even as his tiny master chides him and tells him that there simply is no try. As he seeks to draw on the mystical energy that no doubt seems alternately so close yet so far, the very thing Luke must "unlearn" is the habit of relying on his own egocentric brand of power.

And more excerpts:

Of course, such issues have been hotly debated throughout the history of religion. During the fifth century, a series of arguments erupted between the British monk Pelagius and the Christian father St. Augustine concerning whether or not salvation could be attained by personal deeds and good works. The Gothic Church won out, and the orthodox stance ever since has been that it comes only by virtue of divine grace. No amount of trying or personal effort is going to merit salvation, and most sophisticated saints have realized many attempts to do so only build up the worst sin of all, namely spiritual pride. Grace must come as a gift, as it says in Ephesians, "lest any man should boast."

.....

Turning Eastward, the representation of grace also finds form in the mysterious Tao, which its first sage Lao Tzu praises as being feminine in its gentleness as well as in its open and creative nature. Comparisons between the Force and the Tao, or the "Way," have existed since the beginning, and there is also a parallel in that both can be likened to water. Each are transparent, provide great nourishment for those who partake of them, and are immensely powerful. The Force ebbs and flows about the galaxy, and as such, it is obviously something one must ease into rather than fight, a current to be swam with rather than against. As Qui-Gon Jinn puts it, "Just relax. The Force will guide us." It is the bouyancy of the galaxy, for all one has to do is let go and float. On the contrary, the dark side is trying to hold one's self up by their own efforts, and upon seeing how clinging to the water only results in the opposite intended effect, it tries to drown as many others as it can.

I guess this is what I was trying to drive at when I've decided to just "live" and let things be, to not worry about what may happen, but to just live and cope with everyday as best I could. It seems that the more I struggle to try to analyze things and try to gain control, the more I lose control of it. Like the Zen master said, I have a "much too willful will".

Notes to self: Unlearn. Do or do not, there is no try. Exert action without action. Patience is a Jedi trait. Just relax. The Force will guide you. :)

Maybe then I could master aimless, purposeless art and start to gain some enlightenment. :)

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Quote for the Day:

"At the end of all our journeys, we will return to where we first began, and we will know the place for the first time."

This quote reminded me of a scene in "The Hours" when Virginia was watching the little girl, Angelica, make a burial bed for a dead bird. They were talking about what will happen when one dies. Virginia told Angelica that when people die, they go back to where they came from. Angelica replied that she doesn't remember where she came from. And Virginia answered that she doesn't either....

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Excerpts from GiNnY's Diary

Discovered very intriguing things yesterday. Hrmmmmm.... Hrmmmmmm.... Hrmmmmmmmmmmm.... But will still refuse to assume. The Force will take care of everything. I'll just let it be. He's turning out to be an enigma, though. :)


.:chronicled by senator skywalker at 8:04:00 PM:.
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