I'll be continuing with posts on developing awareness/connection/accumulating/etc. the Force soon enough - as for right now, I need to put a few bits into writing that I've been juggling with in my head for a number of years now... sermons for the Temple.
This here is one of them, and I may either directly send this to those in charge of including it there, or I might rather link them to it here for their perusal and decision to include it.
In which case, it needs to be noted that I am the copyright holder of this text - if the viewer will forgive any seeming rudeness of my small demands here, I need to state that, if accepted as sermon material for the Temple, nothing herein shall be omitted from, nor anything added to, this piece (as it is written below), nor any punctuation or paragraph spacing changed (nor bold, nor italics), nor "misspellings corrected" - as at times I often place such, intentionally, for nuance or added meaning... and also I generally conform to Canada/UK spelling conventions ('honour' instead of 'honor', 'colour' instead of 'color', etc.). If anyone has issues with any of it, I am open to be approached about it - but no changes shall rightfully be made until I have been approached, and an agreement arrived at.
Please do, forgive this, if it may seem rude or overbearing - but it is important <3
Okay, well - having said all of that, below the line of asterisks ("****") beneath this sentence that you are reading now, is the title and the sermon - I hope you like it ^_^
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Is There a Place for Hatred in a Jedi's Life?
Hatred... is there a place for it in the life of a Jedi?
Anyone might easily gravitate to what many may feel would be the obvious answer; "no".
But the answer may well surprise you. But given meditative thought, you might then agree.
First, let's consider something important; whether we as Jedi, choose to be so as someone who lives according to the Jedi philosophy, or even if we choose to go as far as Jedi Knighthood - either way, and all in between - we strive to be more than the "default settings" person we are from birth, but we become what we make ourselves to be.
We build ourselves, and make ourselves, honing our being to be better. Not in competition with each other, but with our ever-previous selves.
This is important, in relation to this sermon's topic - allow me to make an illustration.
Try to see it as though we are given at birth, some "basic programming" if you will, and also the power, as we grow, to "upgrade" such, as we acquire more experience and wisdom along the way. We continue to prove to be what we shall prove to be.
For example... we might witness some sort of injustice done by one person, against another.
Our inborn "programming" may be triggered to feel, "HEY! THAT IS SO UNFAIR!"
But without the experience of wisdom, we may automatically turn our triggered emotions toward the doer of the bad deed, and see that one as an understandable object of hate, to which we instinctually direct our anger to.
But... do we know all that's to be considered? Was the deed done by accident or on purpose?
If the latter, is it out of any societal allowance for retribution for a previous opposing action? We hardly, if ever, know the whole story...
The point is that this is just like the difference between immaturity and maturity. Now, "immature" sounds like a derogatory term - but it needn't be so. Children are not yet mature, and this is the meaning I make here.
And many of us are "adults" according to our "life calendar" - but morally and spiritually... are we really as mature as we may have confidence in ourselves to be"?
Children (and even many of we "yet-to-be-fully-matured-adults") lack the experience to deal with upsetting feelings and emotions (to one degree or other), and as a result, can only ever act on them... whereas mature adults have the experience and wisdom to properly deal with such things.
Note: "Maturity" is a non-finite quality - again, "calendar age" does not define such. In fact, Truly, it is a thing that never *completes* - it is a task that never ends, growing with our ever-increasing experience for ever as long as we shall live. This is a most important, and most forgotten, fact.
Now let's apply this to the above illustration of one being, committing a misdeed to another.
The misdeed is the only *wrong* thing here, when all is said and done.
A thief who steals, causing another to be without what that one needs in life, is a bad thing, yes... but it's never quite so "black-and-white" as this situation being that the thief is evil, and the other is good.
The deed is the thing which shouldn't need to happen.
Behaviour can be rehabilitated/augmented/rerouted/relearned.
In the end, beings are not objects of hate, though their misdeeds may often be.
Going back to "becoming what we make ourselves to be"... our instincts can tell us what is right and what is wrong. Our actions can be determined by what we learn, and how wise we may have become at any given time.
Will we fly off wildly and hate and seek to injure the doer of the deed, or would we more wisely understand that such would only attack the symptom and leave the cause unchecked?
As Jedi, we should strive to understand this... even to better; cultivate a love for what is good, and a hatred for what is bad.
As Jedi we can - and even must - hate injustice. Hate murder. Hate rape. Hate child abuse. Hate racism. Hate any crime.
Crimes... misdeeds... falling short of justice.
We must hate these things.
But not beings.
Some, even many faiths, say words to the effect of, "Hate the sin - but love the sinner", meaning that we should not hate one another, but we should hate the bad things that some do... meanwhile, we should seek to right what's wrong within the hearts of those doing bad things - not condemn them.
Now, as with anything, this too, cannot be dissected into any kind of black/white, concrete, cure-all answer for absolutely everything in life... I'm fairly certain that many reading this might say, "But what if A, B, C, and what of X, Y, Z??" - but such is beyond the scope of this one single sermon, which should only serve as a basic foothold, a guidepost, through all the complexities of life we may find ourselves as Jedi, on any given day.
Use your wisdom, as you go on acquiring more, to be your compass... and May the Force be with you <3
