A Harmonious Temple in a Chaotic World

Chaos, yet Harmony… In my time spent wandering the halls of my beloved Temple, I have witnessed the chaos. I read the rants of my fellow Jedi who are at wit’s end. I remember meeting Jedi who burned brightly only to disappear. I’ve seen bitter rivalries and petty feuds. I’ve watched Jedi be banned from our halls. I’ve known Jedi who have seemingly lost their way. I’ve witnessed Jedi experience personal tragedy and seem broken. I have personally been moved to tears of frustration and anger here. Yes, I have seen the chaos. Yet, I have witnessed the harmony. I remember the warm welcome from Jestor and others when I took my first timid steps through the doors. I read how grateful my fellow Jedi are for life’s littlest pleasures. I know Jedi who have been a steady flame to help light my way in the dark. I’ve found lifelong friends and shared revealing conversations. I’ve seen Jedi rise through the ranks. I’ve watched Jedi do amazing things in the face of tremendous adversity. I have personally been moved to tears of happiness and gratitude here. Yes, I have experienced the harmony. Chaos, yet Harmony… Bear with me while I share a story, if you will. When I was in my tenth year of school, around fifteen years of age, I had a teacher who began the year by handing us a grammar workbook meant for seven year olds. We spent three months doing English grammar lessons that I had completed almost a decade earlier. Why would a teacher waste our time with this, you might ask? I did ask, and her answer was a simple one. In our efforts to show how intelligent and worldly we had become, we had forgotten the basics. But what does this story have to do with our Temple? Like that classroom, our Temple is a place for learning. We tackle difficult subjects and we debate them furiously. We seek inspiration from great philosophers, heroes, politicians and leaders. We study so that we may become better Jedi and better human beings. We have lofty and admirable goals as a Temple, as we should. We are worldly and we are intelligent, and yet, sometimes we forget about the basics. Chaos, yet Harmony… It is a line of our Code. It is an important understanding for a Jedi to have and a crucial piece in the foundation of this Temple. It is contained in our Doctrine; our instruction manual. It’s part of the basics. When your world or your Temple becomes a chaotic place, sometimes you just have to go back to the beginning. Sometimes we need a teacher to hand us that book from ten years earlier and tell us to review it one more time. From the Doctrine, Maxim 21: Harmony: To be connected to the Force. A Jedi seeks to live in harmony with the Force, for that is the reason to be a Jedi. To better understand its ways, to better know one's place within it. The legacy of this Temple will contain our greatest achievements along with our biggest failures. These walls have seen Jedi at their best and they have witnessed Jedi in moments of weakness. They have seen chaos, yet they have seen harmony. And they will see more of both. When we, together as Jedi, go back to the basics and remember our Doctrine and what we stand for, we realize that all is as it should be. Like the Force, our Temple is chaotic. Like the Force, our Temple is harmonious. Whatever it is, we must always seek to better understand it’s ways and to better know our places within it, just as we seek to live in harmony with the Force. Temple of the Jedi Order can be a harmonious place in a chaotic world, if only we remember that it will also be our chaotic place in a harmonious world. Chaos, yet Harmony… Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts, and May the Force Be With You All.