You say the only problem in the galaxy is that people aren't willing to help one another. Anakin Skywalker

Darth Vader was a pupil of mine, before he turned to evil. Obi-Wan Kenobi

The contrast between these two statements is what lies at the heart of the story of Anakin Skywalker, his rise to fame in the Clone Wars, his fall to the dark side, and his eventual redemption at the hands of his son Luke. But the story of the central character in Star Wars goes much deeper than that. In some ways, the story of Darth Vader is the story of each one of us. This is not to suggest that we are all future Dark Lords or Ladies of the Sith in training, but rather that we all make decisions and establish patterns in our lives that determine our destiny.

One reason why the saga resonates with so many of is because of the way that it has touched us personally. How many of us grew up wanting to be like Luke, Han, or Leia? How many who have found the saga through the prequels wanted to be Obi-Wan, Anakin, or Padme? And how many of us who love both trilogies have heroes from all the films? I posit that we want to be like these characters not because they have cool weapons, a sweet ride, or something like that, but rather because they have qualities and traits that we admire and are trying to cultivate in our own lives. And that's where the story of Anakin Skywalker becomes personal as anakinside1 has so eloquently shared.

While luminous beings we may be, we also have darkness inside all of us. We've all done things we're not proud of. We all have something we would like to change in our lives. It is not a pleasant experience to examine the darkness within ourselves. It can be harrowing to see what path our own darkness is leading us down. And as Yoda warned Luke, consume you it will. It's difficult to understand and comprehend what drove evil men like Stalin and Hitler, and yet Darth Vader has become sympathetic because we know his story. We do not agree with what he did, but we have some level of understanding as to why he joined the dark side. The point here is not to excuse evil actions, but instead to examine ourselves. What are the principals around which our lives are based? What do we desire most in the world? And how far will we go to get it? This final question is the key one. It's not a bad thing to want to protect our loved ones, but we must also look at the consequences of decisions we're about to make.

The Jedi were not devoid of the dark side. They clearly knew what it was. It had tempted all of them at one time or another, and some had tapped into it briefly. Obi-Wan's fury after Qui-Gon's death drove him against Maul. Luke's anger at Vader's threat to turn Leia to the dark side drove him to attack. The dark side was within all of them, just as darkness is within all of us. The key is to recognize it. Both Obi-Wan and Luke recognized the error of tapping into the dark side, and threw it aside. They both understood that going dark would turn them into something they did not want to become.

This is where Anakin faltered. He never stopped to think about what Padme might think about his joining the dark side. He never considered how she would feel about his betrayal of his friends and murder of the younglings. How could taking life from children not much older than the one his wife is carrying help him gain the power to preserve her life? He failed to think it through until the end. Why would willingly inflicting death upon others lead him to the power to stop death? The consequence of Anakin's choices is seen so clearly. In going to the dark side, he caused the very thing he had joined the dark side for. He went to the dark side to save Padme, and in the end, he sought to choke the life right out of her. When she needed him most, he had chosen to be by Darth Sidious side. And so he would suffer, forced to spend the rest of his life alone, with only the darkness within to comfort him. Except the darkness could not comfort him for it reminded him that he had caused the death of the one he loved the most. No matter what lies Sidious told him or the lies he told himself, Vader knew the truth. He had killed Padme. He had become the thing his nightmares were made of. Matt Stover's description of becoming the dragon in the ROTS novelization was spot on.

Seeing the fall of Anakin caused many people to reflect on their own lives. Anakin, so full of potential, fell so far. As Matt Stover said, the brightest light casts the darkest shadow. As such there is light and darkness inside each of us. The decision to remain in the light so to speak is our own. There's not one thing we can to be rid of the darkness forever, and that was Anakin's mistake. He embraced the dark side in an effort to slay his demons, defeat his fear, and it cost him everything. While he claimed that he did not fear the dark side, the fear of loss that drove his fall came from the dark side. And Anakin caused what he feared the most, loneliness. He had betrayed his friends to save his wife, and in doing so, turned his wife against him because he was no longer the man she loved. Fear led to anger, anger led to hate, and hate led to suffering. Darth Vader was truly alone, loved by none, feared by all.

Luke Skywalker also had this same darkness within him. He had seen loss in a senseless fashion as Owen and Beru were murdered by the Stormtroopers. He watched as Obi-Wan was struck down by Vader. His own hand was cut off in a duel with a Sith Lord. How many friends had he seen die in battle? And yet, through it all, Luke stayed strong. He faced the same decisions. He was offered the chance to join the dark side to save his friends from what appeared to be certain death. He felt the rush of power from giving into his anger as he drove Vader into submission. And yet, he threw his lightsaber aside. He recognized what was happening to him, at least in part because of what had happened to his father. Luke faced the darkness within and did not yield, even at the risk of his life. Yoda once warned him that he may need to sacrifice Han and Leia if he honored what they fought for, and now, he was prepared to sacrifice himself to honor what they were fighting for. This decision changed the day, and the son taught a valuable lesson to his father. You do not have to remain in darkness. For I am a Jedi, like my father before me.

Luke was able to confront the darkness within. He saw where the darkness was leading him and he realized that it would not give him strength to save his friends. Luke had learned to accept loss. Even though Obi-Wan and Yoda were gone, he knew that they were still with him. And so, his friends could not be taken away from him. Though they may pass on to another realm, his memories of them would not be gone. Their influence on him would remain. They would always be a part of him. The darkness could not bring them back. It could not stop them from dying, but love could keep them a part of him forever. In his conversation with Leia on Endor, Luke learned about his mother. He knew what she was like, and though she had never held him, he understood there, somehow, that she loved him. This helped him become stronger to fight the darkness because the darkness could not take his mother's love from him, nor could it take his mother's love from his father.

Luke understood what it means to be a Jedi. A Jedi can love, but must love unconditionally. The foundation of a Jedi is love, the compassion to help lift another being to a higher purpose in life. A Jedi must understand that love is the answer to the darkness, that love can help anyone change themselves for the better.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no death. There is the Force.