Tag Archives: Star Wars

Crying

For the first 64 years of my life, I hardly cried at all.  Then my beloved wife Jody was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.  A year later she died.  And the tears flowed every day for months.  Now I cry sometimes … for my dear one and for other human beings who are suffering.

I love watching The Mandalorian on Disney Plus.  It’s a Star Wars story about a bounty hunter and the infant that he’s trying to return to his own people.  On Friday night’s season finale, Din Djarin keeps his promise, handing Grogu to a Jedi who will train him further in the ways of The Force.  Seeing Din and Grogu joined at the eyes on parting brought the tears once more.  I cried.  We folks are touched when people come together in love, and when they say goodbye in love.

The website What’s On Disney Plus  was full of reactions to the human connection.  Here’s a sample of the world’s responses, with my comments attached:

Okay, I full blown cried
I cried and so did my husband
Cried like a baby
My 6-year-old son and I both cried
I just started crying out of nowhere

Yes, hopefully that’s what human beings do
There’s no planning … just an explosion of being undone

***

I cried and my husband laughed at me
I had tears falling down my face with my husband laughing at me
I was tearing up and my daughter was laughing
and informed the rest of my family watching
that mommy was crying
My husband said “there’s no crying in Star Wars!”

I guess your sadness was too scary for them

***

No tears … all cheers

There was a glorious reunion at the end for Star Wars fans
I guess it overwhelmed the despair of loss

***

I fought back my tears with a huge smile

Let’s just be happy and forget the rest

***

I had the feels
I got a little teary-eyed
Very heartbreaking at the end
It touched the hearts of millions

Ahh … euphemisms that dampen the pain
And having the sorrow reduced to the adjective “heartbreaking”
Or it being out in the world rather than in me

***

Touching, but not that touching
I get people are having emotional responses
and I have those too, but not being a Star Wars fan
I am failing to understand why

Neither here nor there on the spectrum of feeling things

:::

Sometimes, dear friends, we just need to cry together
Some of life is sad

A Couple of Tips

I love Star Wars.  And I love reading the posts in the What’s On Disney Plus message board.  A few days ago, this showed up:

Admit it!  You’ve tried to use the Force before

Far in the past, Obi-Wan Kenobi told us true: “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power.  It’s an energy field created by all living things.  It surrounds us and penetrates us.  It binds the galaxy together.”  Classic Star Wars quotes about the Force include:

Use the Force, Luke!

Close your eyes.  Feel it.  The light … it’s always been there.  It will guide you

The Force is strong with him

The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force

I felt a great disturbance in the Force … as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.  I fear something terrible has happened

For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.  Life creates it, makes it grow.  Its energy surrounds us and binds us.  Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter

***

In What’s On Disney Plus, I wondered how my fellow luminous beings would describe their use of the Force.  Here’s a sample:

Every time I’m in an elevator

Every time at automatic doors

I use it at red lights

Every time the remote is across the room

What do you mean, “tried”?

Those first three are modest achievements, speaking of external technology rather than internal fire.  I invite you to experiment with your own luminosity.  It requires two metal clothes hangers.  For years, the apparatus I describe below was propped against the wall of my family room in Union, Ontario.  When I moved to Belmont three years ago, I threw the hangers out.  (Sigh)  I sense that it’s time for a resurrection.  Sadly, I have no metal hangers in my home.  A trip to Walmart seems to be in order.

Here are the instructions:

Cut two metal clothes hangers to create right angles
Hold one half of each hanger vertically, so the other half is horizontal
Hold the two hangers in front of you, parallel to each other
Using your mind, not your hands, move the two tips together

Have fun!