QUI-GON : Don't center on your anxiety, Obi-Wan. Keep your concentration here and now where it belongs.

OBI-WAN : Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future...

QUI-GON : .....but not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of the
living Force, my young Padawan.

The Phantom Menace (1999)

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I've read a bunch of blogs about Obi-Wan Kenobi this week, thanks to nob01.

I've enjoyed all them. In fact, I think they've pretty much covered why we all like Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi. As a result, I'd like to focus on what I think is Ben's single greatest moment in the entire saga and his entire life. The funny thing about this moment is the fact that HE WASN'T EVEN THERE!

Let me set the scene: A desperate battle rages around a planet-destroying battle station. A planet whose inhabitants are trying desperately to bring liberty, peace, and justice back to the galaxy after 20 years of tyrannical rule. As fighters are slowly extinguished like tiny bugs, a solitary ship makes its way along the perimeter of the monstrous 'death star' angling for the shot that will save them all.

And then all goes quiet.

The quiet is happening not because hope is secured but because this lone fighter is going to fail - all is about to be lost.

This solitary warrior, this singular fighter, is going to miss his shot. Luke Skywalker is going to fail and he doesn't even know it.

Luke, figuratively and literally, is stuck in a rut. He is concentrating on instruments that are incapable of calculating the shot given the angle and speed with which he is approaching the exhaust port. He's probably going too fast, but the point is, he's going to miss as Red Leader did moments earlier. He's using imperfect instruments in place of instincts he learned to lean on as a child racing among the dunes. Back then, he seemed to live in the moment, but now that so much is on the line, he's afraid. The trophy this time isn't a desert rodent or a finish line...it's a new hope and a new life. And it's something he's only going to get one shot at. He can't relax as he pushes his face into the viewfinder insisting he can find an electronic answer.

And then it happens. A voice breaks the silence.

Let go.

It's not a stranger's voice. Its calm, its peaceful, and its assured. It's the voice of the newly deceased Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Reaching out from beyond, 'the voice' reminds young Luke of the only lesson that matters in life, whether farming at home, racing friends, or fighting in space: Live in the moment....Let go.

I get chills every time - EVERY TIME - Ben speaks to Luke at this moment. Despite the death, the carnage, the chaos, and the doubt, Ben reminds Luke that none of it matters. As Qui-Gon taught Obi-Wan, its now Ben's turn to teach Luke the greatest lesson a Jedi could ever learn: don't let the regrets of the past or the desires for the future cloud the moment your living in right now: Remember to keep your mind on where you are and what you are doing.

I think the lesson Luke received that virtual day is crucial, especially in light of the current events. I think it would be hard to argue that in today's world there isn't plenty of fear, plenty of carnage, and plenty of doubt. We are all moving forward at what seems like an ever-increasing pace with little wiggle room and plenty of obstructions, some of them dire. And, then, of course, there are those events, like creeping tie-fighters, that come up on our six and that we can do little about except try to limit the damage.

We all have our answers for times like these - some helpful, some not so much. And Star Wars might be a bit too generic to deal with the complex events we encounter so often. However, I don't think any of us would mind, if at a moment of crisis, a friend's voice reached out from beyond and told us the one thing we needed to hear most, that might set our minds at ease so we could concentrate on the moment and not lose hope.

And, as far as movies go, we have Obi-Wan Kenobi to remind of this very thing. We are all human and we all have doubts. We all make mistakes and we all get nervous. And we all fear. The fact that the scene is fictional makes it even better because no one can ever take away or change what was said at the moment (no, not even GL can go back in time and change this) - Kenobi is untouchable. Ben is there in your mind and whenever you need him just as he was for Luke. You have only to stretch out with your feelings to hear him:

Let go.

...dedicated to Kenobi fans everywhere.