The other day I had five good minutes.

Grampy-Wan decided to clean the pool, and this requires my assistance... my special contribution being my ability to get down on the concrete and finagle the vacuum hose around until it's plugged in tight and all the air is gone without losing suction... after this feat, I sat and watched...

And while sitting in the sun in my yellow pajamas and sun glasses, my back to the brick wall, I saw things. I heard things. I noticed things.

And for five minutes I was a good Jedi, focused on the here and now. I let the Force flow through me and heighten my awareness of the ordinary. No thoughts back to the regrets of the past, no worries about the future... Just a few moments in the sun.

Obi-Wan Katnobi walked across my lap with a meow and took his place on the corner of the fence overlooking his kingdom. A bird flew by and I didn't worry about him catching it and dragging it into the house...

The wind rustled the trees, and I noticed my neighbor's tree has leafed out, and I didn't think about the shade trees I used to have in my yard that I killed...

Some freshly cut grass floated on top of the water and I didn't think about how they might clog up the filter... I just watched the sun shine on the little, tiny waves... and listened to the birds chirp and the wind moving the trees...

My other neighbor has a TV antenna, and I wonder if back in the 60s, when the neighborhood was new, if every house had a TV antenna on top it... I see the turbo-vents whirling on the roof on every house around... Air conditioners turning on and off...

And the sparkly clear water looked so soothing, reminding me of how much I love the water, and then I realized how I'm stuck here for another stinkin' summer!!!!!!

So, the moment was over... I was back to my fretting and worrying and complaining.

But it made me stop and think how Star Wars has affected my interpretation of things. Now when I wonder, I wonder about the GFFA.

Do they have pool-cleaning droids? That's not all that far out there, what with the automatic, built in pool cleaners that new pools have these days...

But do cats chase birds in the backyards of Bakura? Do palm trees rustle in the breeze on Dantooine? Does cut grass skitter across the clear water of the Silver Sea? Did an idiot with a salt-water fish tank kill all the trees on Coruscant? Oh wait, that was me...

Do Jedi ever stop and sit with their feet in the water?

So now instead of fretting, I'm going to dream about barefoot Jedi on the shores of distant lakes, and Force sensitive cats, and flying cars... that don't need gas...

And may the Force be with us all...