The Breaking of Harmony
In the beginning of his work “The Silmarillion” Tolkien establishes that the world and life within his fictional universe were the result of a primordial music created by the gods. While initially this music began as individual voices, the unity and harmony increased in a greater and complex song. Let us consider then that our lives are a single voice, a single melody. This melody has major and minor variations to represent the sad and happy moments in our lives. These melodies harmonize with the melodies of those we come in contact with to form a complex song. This complex song is the Force, and our individual melodies arise from and eventually meld back into the larger composition. It is through compassion and love that we harmonize with others and are able to touch the lives of those that we meet in our unique refrain. Such harmony is the result of our shared connection to the Force.
While we, especially as Jedi, would love to see this natural harmony in every aspect of the world, we regrettably do frequently observe cases where individuals choose to insert discords into the universal theme. These faults, this turbulent sound, this conflict results from individuals who actively choose to forsake compassion and connection with our fellow beings. What would cause people to pursue the path of conflict and break the natural harmony? How do we get to the point of hating someone? Being Jedi we all know the quote: “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate.” But let’s take a moment to delve into specifically what is going on.
The most common form that we observe is that somehow another individual is being perceived as a threat to your safety. Your basic scapegoat scenario. Whether actual or not, the other is being perceived as intending to cause you harm. We see it as a kind of power this other has over us and we fear not only for our survival but also the fear of having a lack of control of our lives.
Alternatively, hatred can arise from simply trying to put yourself ahead. This is the narcissist scenario. In a world that seems to promote an “us vs. them” mentality, many people seem to try to put themselves ahead of other people in their mind. Out of fear that their attempts to come out on top will be foiled, the result can be a hatred towards other people who the subject views as potentially “better.” Fears of inadequacy often accompany this form of hatred
In many instances hatred can be viewed as a form of projection. I will refer to this as the monster scenario. This external party represents something in ourselves that we are insecure about. If someone hates someone based on their sexual orientation, it could arise from insecurities in ones one sexual orientation. If someone hates a fat person, it could be because they see the potential within themselves of getting heavier. There are conflicts within a person that are being repressed and they are surfacing as hatred.
But one of the most concerning reasons why we hate has become particularly abundant in recent years: It has become almost trendy to hate certain groups. I’m going to call this the “cool kid” scenario. We’re not talking about a fear of the parties being hated nor are we talking necessarily talking about a conflict of belief. This form of hatred arises because it is perceived as “cool” and may be encouraged among peers. This form of hatred is likely fueled by a fear of exclusion that the individual compensates for by constructing an illogical emotion: hate.
What connects these various scenarios is this: it sometimes seems easier to put up barriers and create disharmony than it is to actually understand and accept. Love can bring up existential issues as we gain a new respect for how special life is. It may even stir up some unresolved conflicts from our past. But as Jedi, we need to do take the more difficult road and understand the workings of the world to facilitate that the universal orchestra continues to produce harmonies and try to reduce the conflict produced by putting up barriers. People come in all forms with all kinds of different beliefs and all of them are beautiful for just being the way they are. Keep true to yourself, sing your unique melody, and harmonize with the world around us through understanding and compassion.
