Recently, I finished reading "Invincible", and feeling - like many fans of the EU probably are - that I am reaching the end of an era. Things are coming full-circle with the Skywalker and Solo clans. One thing remains: Attachment.

To me, the Legacy of the Force series is heavily laden with attachment "issues." One of the reasons I have loved this series is because its real. It is human nature in all its glory: triumphs and failures included. I sincerely applaud the trio of writers who collaborated to produce this series: Aaron Allston, Troy Denning and Karen Traviss. To me, they hit the nail on the head!

There was a quote in Revelation that really stuck with me, and actually prompted me to think more deeply about the subject of attachment; not only in the world of Star Wars, but in our own lives. The quote was said by the Mandalorian warrior and healer Gotab:

"Attachment - and you inevitably use your powers to serve your own family, or in your case...you fail to use them. Avoid attachment - and you become an enactor of ritual, a sterile creature unable to truly understand love and sacrifice." (Traviss, Revelation p. 403)

Attachment truly is a double-edged sword. In the old JO, where attachment was forbidden, there was truly an air of sterility. Passion was forbidden, Love was forbidden. Yet, the Jedi were taught to have compassion and empathy. How can one have either of these if love and attachment does not exist? It's as though the younglings were brainwashed against the most intrinsic emotion of all - love. We are born to love. We are born to interact with others in ways that touch our lives - both good and bad. That's what makes us human. Without attachment we are nothing. To quote a talented writer and one of my best friends - amidalooine: "Seems the Jedi missed the point. They trusted nothing completely but themselves, and they missed the true power of the Force." Well-said, my friend.

Here's another point: had Luke not formed an attachment to his father, Anakin would never have become redeemed and able to bring balance to the Force as prophesized.

*Slight spoiler to follow- if you haven't seen Clone Wars, skip the next paragraph...*

Then we have the new Clone Wars movie. Yoda's whole purpose for giving Anakin Ahsoka as a Padawan learner was to make him learn how to sever attachments. How could he sever something that wasn't supposed to exist in the first place? How could Yoda - or anyone in the old JO - expect Masters to not get attached to their Padawans in some way? It just seems so confusing...and borderlines on cruel!

I still say the fall of the old JO was all Yoda's fault (shameless blug)...well, at least mostly...but I digress...

Any feeling - be it love, compassion - or whatever - can be taken to extremes, becoming obsessive and/or abusive (such as many argue was the case between Anakin and Padme), but its in the absence of attachment that we are not whole beings. We are created to love each other, to have relationships and to live our lives to the fullest. I believe my life is worth living now more than ever because of the attachments I have - as a wife, a mother, a friend...granted, attachments also make life more complicated, and can sometimes feel like they are ripping your heart out, but I truly believe I am healthier in every way because of them. No one said attachment was easy. But nothing worth having ever is.

In closing, I'd like to quote another blogger - Darth Hiram - who put it so eloquently: "The Force can be found in love, and that love can provide all the security one needs when it's just allowed to be." Here, here!

MTFBWY...always

~MO2YP~