The Wisdom of “Do or Not Do”

The Power of Myth

We all love great stories especially the ones that involve heroes, quests, and good overcoming evil. The mythic qualities of these ancient tales fuel our imaginations and connect us to universal truths and wisdom. They touch something so deep inside that we recognize how the world works.  The universal myths are still important today they reflect the foundations of human civilizations. Myths explain suffering and striving, and how to become an adult. They connect our external experiences to our inner experiences and give them meaning and purpose. They communicate a sense of universal order and show how people should live.

George Lucas was a huge fan of Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth. Star Wars holds on to the best quality of these ancient and universal stories. It is why the Star Wars franchise continues to intrigue even after 40 years.

Do or not do, there is no try

We can all see ourselves in young Luke Skywalker. In the original 3 films, we see him learning a new skill or gaining new knowledge under the tutelage of Yoda, his master. This is his hero’s journey. It is embedded in every journey where we strive to be more than we know ourselves to be.

Luke is mastering becoming a jedi knight.

In The Empire Strikes Back, he stands on the shore watching as his ship sinks further into the murky swamp water. He begins to think that it is impossible to raise it. He thinks that moving stones is much easier than raising the ship out of the swamp. Yoda is frustrated with his young protégé. He says that there is no difference because whether we can do something is all in the mind. Luke responds in a half-hearted and resigned tone of voice “okay . . . I will give it a try”

It is then that Yoda gives us his perennial words of wisdom. “Do or not do. There is no try”. Yoda knows that when we focus on the potential negative outcomes of activity then we hold ourselves back from fully committing. He knows that in his heart, Luke believes that he doesn’t have a chance to become a true jedi master. He thus overthinks his actions and is on the lookout for any flaw while he is trying to accomplish something. Yoda’s wisdom knows that this attitude can only lead to a failed performance and the rationalization that failure is inevitable. Success is impossible.

Luke makes another attempt but fails. He cries in frustration to his mentor Yoda “you want the impossible” and walks away.

Half-Hearted Commitment to Growth

In our individuation journeys, we are the heroes or heroines of our personal myth. We are called to grow through challenges, retrieve new understandings of ourselves and the world, and to move into more of who we are meant to be. To live our individuation, we must own that there is a story living through us and that there will be struggles that we must embrace along the way.

Do we see early Luke Skywalker in ourselves? How many times have we said “okay…I’ll try” in a halfhearted way when called to do something beyond our comfort zone. The other tactic we use is to say, “I don’t know how to do this”.   We aren’t looking for a plan. We are looking for a way out.  In both cases, our resignation is the signal that we have our fingers crossed behind our back. We think that it is our “get out of jail free” card and that we can save ourselves from some embarrassment.

We remain in a comfort zone. We also remain stuck and unengaged with life and nothing ever changes.

Copyright Christina Becker
November 2019

Have you found value here? Have you been inspired or moved?  Please consider sharing the post on your social media networks by using the buttons below.

I love to hear your comments and ideas. Use the comments below or send me an email.