Giri is a Japanese value that corresponds to duty, obligation, or self-sacrificing devotion.
Giri is a principle that can reinforce the relationship between master and disciple, as well as the practitioner's commitment to their own development and their art.
Giri is a sense of duty that ensures social harmony.
It refers to the sense of obligation or duty that individuals feel towards others, particularly in social and cultural contexts.
There is an unspoken pride and responsibility that comes with duty. There is also an unspoken burden with it as well.
Ninjo is the emotional part of duty. The love and devotion to the people or the ideas.
Broadly speaking, ninjō is said to be the human feeling that inescapably springs up in conflict with social obligation.
Let me also remind you of compassion fatigue. It is the exhausted version of acting when we just go through the motions without care or concern or even understanding. (Hunsaker, Chen, Maughan, & Heaston, 2015).
Encyclopedia definition:
Compassion fatigue is a form of stress or tension that arises from frequent contact with traumatized people, where we become preoccupied with the suffering or pain of others.
Now, take some time to get these ideas down. At some time in our Jedi path, the fear of becoming selfish and a hermit is a fear many have. We have the symbolism in our Cinema as a constant. Becoming isolated and separate is not a place to dwell. The present moment is.
We care. Jedi care. Without condemnation and judgment, Jedi care. It is part of what we do. The levels we care about can be where things differ. How we care matters. How much we care matters. The defense is the hope that love or compassion doesn't sour and turn to hate and despair.
We all suffer from this. Some levels of care are attached with some duty or actions. The problem or the conflict arises when our reactions take us or sever the connections we once had. The dilemma is when we run out of care or compassion and in its place is aggression, annoyance or even just no grace.
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TEACHING 11
The Jedi practise living in universal compassion, understanding the phenomena of our environment. We cultivate a particular sensitivity to when feelings of fear, anger, hatred, and aggression germinate within us. These emotions are among our limitations as incarnated, organic beings. We bring to these feelings hope, pardon, and love in equal measure to bring us back into balance with the movement of the Force.
TEACHING 12
Unconditional love and compassion are central in the life of the Jedi. Where imbalance arises, we bring only so much love, pardon, faith, hope, clarity, and joy as is necessary to restore the dynamic equilibrium in our phenomenal environment.
TEACHING 13
The Jedi cultivate empathy with others. Maintaining a keen sensitivity to when the feelings of fear, anger, hatred, and aggression move within us, we emphatically and compassionately comprehend how these feelings also arise in others. Those whom we perceive as adversaries also share these limitations. With this understanding, we respond to imbalance so as to return harmony to the flow of interactions.
TEACHING 15
"... When we must bear witness to the dissolution of those we care for in our and their limited, incarnated, organic capacity, we must extend our compassion, our faith, and our comprehension to re-balance that which we otherwise would feel as loss. The Force only creates and renews, it does not deprive.
We bring only so much love, pardon, faith, hope, clarity, and joy as is necessary to restore the dynamic equilibrium in our phenomenal environment.
Bring only so much as to bring back balance.
Tao 12 reminds us,
The five colors can blind one’s eyes. The five tones can deafen one’s ears. The five flavors can dull one’s taste buds. The pursuit of pleasures can derange one’s mind. The hard-to-get valuables can distort one’s behavior. Therefore, a saint cultivates himself with virtues and does not indulge himself in sensory pleasures. He rejects those outer temptations and chooses this True Nature.
There are many moments, all is too much. Find what brings balance back or don't act. Find a way to stop the first impulsive response and see more. I often miss things when my attention trails off in thought or want to respond instantly, I miss what's present until I return. This is natural. It happens.
As I walk this path with others, it is the little things that stick out at the right moment. Your presence can be the most influential thing you have. Be present. The defense against these type of things is therapy, professional help and getting back to a schedule.
* Create a new schedule and reassess the value of things presently. Dwell in the present moment of what is actually in your everyday path. Change the value of a few old things and a few new things. End things that need to be ended. FINISH IT! This clears out new spaces and time in my everyday life. By finishing things, this truly frees up anyone's time. Too many times, I am over-tasked and I really should not be. I take too much on. We all do. Complete a few things you can even if they seem insignificant. Mark them as done. You know those things I speak of.
* Redistribute the responsibilities. I often think I can do it all. This is very selfish of me at times. For me, this can cripple the farm in ways to where it can create a bottle neck effect. A bottleneck refers to a point of congestion or blockage that leads to inefficiency and delay in a process, system, or supply chain. It can be a narrow or obstructed section, such as a busy section of road where traffic often slows down and stops. I often take on too many little things that do not add up to a 24 hour day. This happens often. By having and relying on others, we can relieve some of the weight and create new ties and connections. This progresses the mentor, mentee, relationship. It keeps it going. It keeps fluid and alive.
* Change your bait.
One of the best life lessons I learned was from an old fisherman who told me," When you find the fish don't bite, change your bait." In my Hawaiian culture there is such a thing as a hook that needs no bait. If you make it properly, the hook is the bait. The idea there is to make the proper hook or make another until they bite. You have what you need. If you find that the present moment is in a state of disconnection, reconnect. Change what you are doing, presently. We as humans have that ability to change our mind, change what we read and who we read as well. Change your study. Pick another path to follow. If you ever get stuck somewhere, start a "side quest". Life is full of what some can call a "side quest". Find out what new things you can try. I swear, there are days I did not know I could do certain things until I began to learn to do them. I never knew I could make my own chopsticks by hand. I have trees galore on the property so it just fits. Start reading something new. Give yourself 18 minutes a day and become more efficient in another subject in one year. I dare you to learn something new. When I do this, I tend to get out of my rut or my own feeling of heaviness. The human mind can learn at any age, no excuses. You have the human potential available, that's a lot of bait to try.
* Focus on " Not YOU. "
Fall in love again with what you forgot. I say this often, but I mean it. Remind yourself of what and where your compassion and passions are. Compassion can come over time. Give compassion to places and people who you DON'T give it to. Give things like grace where it has never been. If you give an enemy compassion and time, you will have compassion for them. Take time to understand what selflessness is. What truly is a selfless act? What do they look like and why are they worth taking time for? One of the secrets I like to pass to others is when I am in a feeling of disconnection, I give. I volunteer to do things, new things. I serve someone else. I am selfish often. Intentionally breaking that and becoming a bit vulnerable is a way to stir the pot. Meet people unlike you. Go somewhere you have not been. Unplug from the ego for a bit and contemplate on anything else besides the "me" in life. Feed birds. Give away books. Write a letter. Read to kids or others out loud. Send an email. Send a message or two to people you wish you had better connections with. Be vulnerable.
The unseen and unspoken weight of things can wear our thoughts, feelings and our will out. It can create disconnection and even isolation and upset. Knowing that this tax exists, can be the first steps to combating them. There are many ways to understand the Giri and the Ninjo in life. Compassion fatigue is real and can kill you. Take the time they need to understand them. They will wear you out. Recognition is everything some days. Understanding is what we seek. Please know that the Temple of the Jedi Order Clergy and any of the Knight's do not operate in a clinical or a mental health care position or capacity. We are volunteers and human. If you need mental health care, please seek it out. It helps to organize and help validate many things. It is my hope that as we cultivate our Doctrine, we draw closer to one another as we point to the Force, we see each other.
May the Force be with you all,
Pastor Carlos
