Truer words have rarely been spoken. This little nugget of wisdom is very easy to overlook in the action and political intrigue found in Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. This one line, in many ways, sums up one of the key differences of the two main characters found in the Star Wars saga: Anakin and Luke. Their focus – their point of view – drastically shaped their lives, and forever changed a galaxy far, far away.
When we are introduced to Anakin and Luke, both are stuck on the same backwater planet, or as Luke put it, “If there is a bright center in the universe, you are on the planet that it is furthest from.” Kind of a bleak description, but once you see the planet Tatooine, you realize that he is probably being generous in his description. Neither lived a life of privilege, both dealt with the loss of parents; both had to leave everything they ever knew behind. Not the cheeriest start for anyone.
In spite of this, each man went on to be a hero and to become a leader among the soldiers and freedom fighters they served with. Yet even in these actions, even in all these similarities, one major difference comes shining through. Through it all, there remained one vast gulf in the directions each life took – their attitude and point of view.
In Return of the Jedi, Obi-wan tried to convey this to Luke. He famously told Luke, “Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” And in some ways, this is true. Obi-wan firmly believed that there was nothing redeemable in Vader, yet Luke saw something very different. Because of Luke’s viewpoint, he held out hope, and sought to find a way to make that viewpoint a reality.
Anakin, sadly, followed a very different path, with a much more devastating result. Throughout the movies, we see a young man who thought many of his experiences were unfair. Instead of seeing the good, he often saw only negativity. He saw actions around him through the lens of corruption and deceit. Even those with good intentions, to his mind became corrupt tools. In this, his viewpoint became twisted, and he became the very monster he started out to destroy. Just as with Luke, his viewpoint became his reality.
In the same way Luke and Anakin walked through life with this, we also come to each situation, each experience with a viewpoint and attitude that greatly affects how we live and act. Some call it optimism, some call it pessimism, some refer to it as positive and negative, in Star Wars, it was the light and dark side, but whatever the terms, we all have a viewpoint. We all have a perspective that influences – that colors – everything in life. For some, that perspective becomes all consuming, and they are unable to see anything but what their viewpoint allows. Unable to see any other point of view, their perspective becomes all-consuming, and ultimately dominates who they are.
Our children are the same way, and many times, they take their cue from us. What they think about a person or situation colors everything they think. At times a child will come to me upset because they are sure that something was done to them on purpose. Their perception, based on previous experiences, colors all they are seeing. It becomes something that is very hard for them to get past, even when no harm was meant. Their perception becomes their reality, and it colors all aspects of the situation.
As adults this happens to us too. Think of emails you have gotten this week. Have you ever read something into it because of the mood you were in? Have you ever acted or responded to something because of what you think someone meant? Many times, just like our children, our perception colors how we act.
When this happens, it is very hard to move past this perception. It is hard as individuals to consider a different viewpoint. Obi-wan had this problem. He thought the only way to stop Vader was to destroy him. He could not conceive of a path that would somehow lead to Vader’s redemption.
Once we see this, once we realize the perspective we are coming from, we have the opportunity to look beyond and see what others might see. We have the chance to grow and see events from another angle, and through this, begin to grow and broaden our attitude and point of view.
As parents, we must help the younglings in our life achieve this same balance. We must help them see, that often in life, there is more that one way to look at something. We need to introduce them to new ideas and new ways of thought, and when life presents them with an event, we can help them look at it through all the angles, and see something new in each situation.
When I was a teenage, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. By nineteen, I had undergone numerous operations, and to this day still struggle with my health. During these times, it would have been easy to give up and live in frustration, anger, and the unfairness of the situation, yet through it all, my parents reminded me of something very important – attitude is everything. They reminded me that how I viewed this, how I viewed life, was more important than the events I walked through, and that the right perspective and attitude, could change everything. This lesson has helped me walk through many things, and has reminded me that my focus – what I chose to dwell on and how I view it – really will determine my reality.
What does your perspective determine in your life? How is your viewpoint affecting how you walk through each day? What viewpoint are you passing along to your younglings? As adults, we need to be sure that we are opening the eyes of our children to new things, and helping them develop the proper perspective through which to view each event. As we do this, we will help them develop their focus, and give them the tools to determine their reality.
*If you enjoyed this post, visit my other blog "Day by Day: My Journey With Parkinson's" and see yesterday's mirror post "Focus Determines Reality".
https://myjourneywithparkinsonsdaybyday.blogspot.com/
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