Kate Solusar’s Holocron

Everybody’s a critic these days.  It is all too easy to find fault with something or someone.  I have always found it amusing how out-of-touch so many so-called or self-anointed critics so often are.  Movie critics, restaurant critics, and political pundits are just some of those who many times have left the average person shaking their heads and trying to figure out how it is possible that we and the critic actually ate at the same place, or went to the same movie, or participated in the same political process.  I bring this up because criticism of this sort is more often about taste and perception than it is about reality.  And, all too often, such folk thrive best on divisiveness, wittingly or unwittingly.  In one of my last holocron posts, I discuss how it is possible to move beyond duality to recognize and acknowledge that rational people can hold a plurality of several different, but no less valid points of view.  I sense that a simplistic duality that does not acknowledge the reality that most issues and situations and people are more complex has finally been seen for how limiting such a view can be in the recent US electoral process.  There are no easy answers.

The title of this post comes from one of my most frequent observations about critics.  They are very good at tearing down and pointing out the negative in a given situation, but less good at building up, of encouraging, of building bridges.  Good news is not news; drama and bad news are.  Of course, the critic, or activist, or opponent will often argue that it is not their place to fix the problems they see; others are responsible for that instead.

So, then, why bring this up here?  Well, I suggest that one of the most important things we can do in our practice of the Jedi way is to be diplomatic, to build bridges, and to work with others on a similar path to that end.   I was very encouraged by a discussion in another Jedi online community regarding the new president-elect following the US election.  One of this person’s most outspoken opponents spoke of his desire to honor and respect the outcome of the process and expressed hope that things might just work out better than he had expressed previously.  What was even better was that no one gloated over the election’s outcome; instead there was a drawing together, a recognition of the validity of each person’s point of view, experience, and perspective.  It was wonderful to see and gave me hope for our online communities. 

I know that this place is still quiet and things are not yet back up.  It is all too easy to assume the worst, to forget that what we all do online ideally is only a part of our lives, and that what we do offline is the greater part and that sometimes that greater part needs our full attention, which is the case here.  I have definitely learned that for so very many of us who choose the way of the Jedi, one of the greatest of the trials we face is patience.   I, for one, am very willing to wait.  This waiting has been very instructive to me.  I have had to practice discretion, to not speculate about what I do not know for sure.  I have learned to keep my counsel and practice the time-honored teaching of my father growing up — “Keep your mouth shut, and your eyes and ears open.”  “Better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”  In these past months, I have learned to let go of my concern for what others may think of me and not feel compelled to defend myself, my choices, and my decisions.  I participate when I have something to say and as prompted to by the Force (at least as I see it).  I also choose not to participate in communities and/or discussions that are not constructive or that promote divisiveness, negativity, and drama.  My life and all it entails is quite enough for me.  I walk this path to lift me and those around me up, not to tear myself or others down.  I am deeply honored by and grateful for those who share this road and their experiences on the journey, in good times and in difficulty, who by so doing help shed more light on our common walk of this Jedi way.