I've blogged about the Force on many an occasion and its subtle relationship I find in daily life with things here on our own planet that I can compare it to. I find instances of the "Force" in lots of the beautiful places and things right here in our own little world. But for this entry, I want to look at the dual identity some Force folks in the GFFA, and indeed some of us too, have between light and dark.

When one thinks about the Force it's generally of two different things. That it holds a great power that is wielded by Force-users and that it is separated into Light and Dark factions. I think that the Force can also be thought of as an entity of enormous power that is willing to help those it chooses; an entity which isn't light or dark, but neutral. Which means, of course, that the light or dark comes from the individual Force-user. And we all have come to know certain characters who wholly represent one side in particular. Sidious was pure evil and believed fully that the darkside of the Force (or rather, his dark intentions) was the only way to go. We don't know his backstory and how he moved towards a dark life, but what we do know is that he showed no compassion for the lighter side of life or those who believed in that.

And as much as Star Wars is a tale about good vs. evil and light vs. dark, it is also a tale of the light vs. dark within the characters themselves ... and within all of us.

Many of the characters struggle with the forces that surround them and the pressure created by them. Yoda is a pure and honest Jedi, quite the opposite of Sidious, but it has been suggested that he has also dabbled in the darker side of life. And as much as he is pure of heart I know he held malice toward the Sith and wanted to do Sidious in as much as Sidious wanted to exterminate the Jedi. Now, Yoda was trying to prevent the fall of the Republic and the Sith takeover, but I imagine years later on Dagobah he had some pretty harsh words to say about Sidious to any creature that would listen. But I think what sets Yoda apart is his ability to recognize the dark temptations and how the Force can be manipulated by that. Even if he does have dark thoughts his wisdom and control are what keep him in the light. And even Mace Windu, who was a huge proponent of the Republic and the Jedi touched upon dark arts in his fighting style of Vapaad. He drew upon energies of the Force that could potentially turn the Force-user to a darker side, but still maintained control of his good and just character.

Anakin and Luke are two characters that go through almost the same scenario with dark and light. Anakin struggled right up to the last minute with which path he should choose. He knew taking Mace's hand would spell the end of the Jedi and lead his life to darker times and that it was wrong. But he did it anyway. He did it out of love and he did it out of selfishness. The dark and light was working overtime within his soul, battling each other until he made the choice that he did. I think we all have conflicting thoughts and emotions within our daily lives much as Anakin did ... and must make choices for either.
And Luke knew that a dark tendency resided within himself as well. He was new to the Force, but used it as a security blanket to try and shield himself from the dark. The dark cave was a test he failed, but learned from. And his true test was facing his father on the Death Star and facing the darkness he could become. As Vader chided Luke into thinking he would turn Leia to the dark, Luke released his anger and fear towards the very being he was afraid to become. He was now tapped into feelings of a darker nature ... of fear, of hatred, of fury. He hacked at Vader until the lesson of the dark cave struck home and he accepted the path he knew he should follow. He saw the light and dark within himself, as he saw it in his father, and accepted it. He needed to accept it in order to overcome the dark path he could have followed ... to recognize it and conquer it. And in so doing, he conquered the ultimate source of fear and loathing in the galaxy ... Sidious. It was through accepting himself as a Jedi after facing the darkside that Luke helped himself and his father eliminate the Sith. He threw off the blanket he was hiding under, like a child in the dark, to bring light to the galaxy once again.

And I think many of us also have a certain degree of both light and dark. Now I like to think most of us are inherently good people with more light side tendencies, but are there times when you feel like a dark cloud or dark weight is pressing on you? When you feel the temptation of something you know is not the right thing you should have done at that moment? And what do you do when faced with such temptations?

I think by knowing ourselves and knowing what drives both light and dark feelings can we overcome the temptations of the darkside ... just as Luke realized this for himself. The Force is a powerful weapon, a powerful teacher and a powerful ally. But it is neutral. Only by knowing oneself is the path to true enlightenment.