Good day and time zone, Temple of the Jedi Order. May the Force be with you where ever you may be.
Summer is in full swing around me. Everywhere I look, there is evidence of new life and the harvest coming. There can come a time when we lose our direction or just can't seem to focus any more. This happens to every human being. There is a thing called Compassion Fatigue and it's very real. You can care so much, you run out of "care" or focus. Everyone has limits and it's our encouragement to every Jedi to pay attention to your cares... are you out?
"Jedi Teaching
6. Jedi use their skills to the best of their ability. We do not use our knowledge and skill to boast or be prideful. We are mindful of the ego and mindful of our actions, exercising wisdom and humility.
7. Jedi understand their limitations. We recognise, and take responsibility, for our failures and develop a level of modesty about them. We respect the right for others to disagree and understand that they themselves are not perfect.
8. Jedi are patient. We work on training ourselves not to precipitate events around us. We know that becoming a Jedi is long and hard and requires rigorous dedication and commitment. Jedi train to act with a conscientious state of calmness."
Find your Returns. Find the path you are on and focus on it. This is what Doctrine and Philosophy are for.
If you are lost in your path or need some direction, return to that which you seek. Remind yourself of your focus.
Why are YOU here?
Fall in love again.
Just a suggestion. Remind yourself why you study and why you seek the way you do. Go over your Doctrine and your own Philosophy. Challenge it. Try it out. If you feel like you are lost, find your way home and return to a "home" idea or a choice you have made and start from the beginning. Re-build what time has used. Replenish what was spent.
Go Away, Take a trip - with - without or only with someone. Remove as much as you can and focus on that person. Give them the most precious gift you can give right now- TIME, quality time and see if this doesn't change things a bit or at least help to calm things for a season.
Go away on a retreat or host one. There is refresh in meeting together. Host a movie night.
Magic, every time.
Make time to spend time. You would be amazed at what comes from spending MORE TIME with your own circle or O'Hana or immediate people.
Fall in love with your craft. I have hobbies. I recommend we all get some. I recommend every one finds out their reading level on their own and read one level higher. We are creatures of habit some say. We work and toil. The level or degree differs but in truth we do something and get paid for it.
Humans can master anything. If it's in the range of human possibility, it can be done. Most of the time it already has. Turning our attention to our trade is a reminder to work on your craft or what you do for a living. Master it. Get better at it or at least more efficient. There is always a way at work to be more diligent but that's coming from someone who has owned and ran restaurants for many years on the side for fun. Cooking is one of the crafts I hone often.
Have a chat with you
Talk to your self, reflect. Ask your self those questions you wanna know. Wonder a bit. Be a detective. For some reason Cinematic Jedi were a type of "detective" of truth. It was their focus, often. Where is the truth? Ask yourself these questions. Find out for yourself. I often tell my own Apprentices, " Would you want to find out for yourself the answers to your own questions?" We can validate some questions to their fullest. In this type of seek, is where we find today's Jedi. Are you the one who will bring balance..... to who, the world? To ourselves? To our communities and families? Where does the balance lie? Fall in love with you.
For some reason NATURE speaks to almost every Jedi I have spoken to, in some way, shape, or form. I attribute that to us all being human. Fall in love with the Earth. I won't tell any one and neither will the Earth. One of the best kept secrets is that -Earth- can be spoken to. Think about that for a bit. No matter the circle you frequent, no one will claim that the dirt is dead, in fact the dirt is alive. Nature has a way of speaking that we all know takes frequency. Change your frequencies. Wherever you go. Visit more nature. Fall in love with the wood again. The growing ones. Name 'em. You don't have to tell anyone ever. I will keep your secret till I pass. I swear to it. Make a connection with nature. It waits. Strengthen it. You won't go wrong and you will find direction in nature often. There is an ebb and flow of things in the NOW that is worth experiencing.
Sometimes we give so much, we are spent. That's natural. When we feel low, or out of juice, or "Care" it can be a cause of fatigue. Battling fatigue isn't easy but identifying it can help combat it. We don't have to feel stuck on a path like this. There is always something to do, some chore that needs done or someone who needs something. It is wise to understand that -at times- WE DO NEED RETURNS. I find them so healthy that I cultivated a few on my own. I am no expert. These are things that work on my own path and I hear they work for others. In this, we share a core connection. I am as human as the next. I fall under every ebb and flow we all do. I stub my toe and have taxes to pay. I eat and poop and even sing at times. We as Jedi are not some mythical beings. We are humans. We have limits. Be wary. Sometimes we run out of direction or care. It's natural and a part of growing. It's a next step in cultivation. There are possibilities.
Take it. Return. It's not a step back, as much as it is a step forward.
Pastor Carlos
