Being an adult is being able to handle responsibilities and holding yourself to a set of standards. Being a Jedi means those responsibilities and standards go up. You are accountable for your actions, both good and bad. That means improving yourself, seeking to do more, and being honest when you aren’t meeting those standards and then doing something about that. A Jedi is also responsible for others accountable for their actions. A Jedi’s life is not about being normal or good enough. It’s not about staring in front of a computer or a tv all day and once in a while hanging out with friends. A Jedi takes action. We get up and we look up help. We study so we can do more and do it better.
When you first start your Jedi path you are responsible for your training and education. No one owes you training. We can certainly help you by answering questions, offering advice and suggestions, but it’s up to you to train. You need to do your research, read, practice, share your experiences, ask for help, seek a master if you wish, work on your flaws, seek offline training, and if you want, get your trials and knighting. No one will tell you to do this. No one requires you do this to be called a Jedi, but it’s highly recommended. However if you want anyone to recognize and respect your title of Jedi or knight or even master, you must do and show the work to others. That is your responsibility as a Jedi.
Responsibility takes discipline and that’s not any easy thing to have. It’s a habit that you start and then build. Discipline takes repetitive, correct, consistent actions. When you practice my Force skills you must practice daily to develop a personal, easy, familiar connection to the Force. This helps you gain confidence and trust in yourself and in the Force, which is vital to learn more complicated Force skills. You will have to find the will and energy to set aside time during each day to practice. It’s best to do this at the same time every day, say after work, after dinner, at 7pm. You will practice for up to 20 minutes. You will do your best, but if you don’t make progress that’s ok. If you make progress you will pm Karen and let her know. Then you will give yourself a treat for being disciplined.
It’s ok to fail in being discipline. We are human and life happens. Sometimes we just can’t do one more activity. Sometimes emergencies happen. Just be aware of letting your busy life become an excuse. If you don’t have time to practice being a Jedi, then you don’t have time to be a Jedi. If the daily habit breaks once, then make sure you put extra effort to do it again the next day. It’s also good to treat yourself in the beginning and then ween yourself off of needing the treat. Learn to see the joy in the skill you are practicing.
Another part of being responsible is being in control of yourself. A mantra I tell myself is it’s ok to feel, but it’s not ok to act. I can be as angry as I want to be, but before I type or talk or do something I need to breathe, calm down, and consider my words and actions before I do them. If I say this, what will be the likely result? Am I seeking to hurt and to control? Is there a way I can get my point across without using my emotions? And furthermore, is my anger at them or at myself? Usually it’s myself and I need to take a walk to cool off before I can be more reasonable.
As you continue your path in Jediism it becomes your new responsibility to notice where the community is failing. I can tell you there are many ways we are failing and being accountability is one of them. When you seek someone not doing enough or doing harm you need to either tell them or tell someone who can talk to them. That doesn’t mean blame, get angry, demand improvement, or accuse. If you offend them they will just entrench in their issues. You can use your manners and sensitivity and gently ask them if there is a problem or you notice this action is happening around the, why is that? Or if the person is trying to do something and failing you can ask “how can I do this?” and start there. Remember to use compassion and empathy to understand their point of view so you can better reach them and guide them to a better way of life. After all, no one really want to be evil, especially not a Jedi. It’s hard to admit you went wrong and wasn’t being a perfect Jedi. Sometimes you need gentle, but firm guidance and forgiveness. We Jedi have a hard time with forgiving a mistake or two.
Like all groups, Jedi and others, we have serious issues that we struggle to make any progress on. I have been part of many different groups and I see similar problems: the wrong people are admins/moderators, the rules are too strict or not being enforced, favoritism, trolls being tolerated, disabled people (especially autistics) get treated poorly, lack of action and direction, newbies are meet with arrogance and impatience, ect. None of these issue are easy to fix. They are flaws on humans, of our egos and unwillingness to slow down, think, feel, and act in a less selfish way. It’s tempting to scream out your frustration, private message everyone, block admins, threaten to leave, leave in a dramatic fashion, or undercut by creating your own group with no thought or experience, but these tactics don’t work, especially in Jediism. If you want to make change then do it carefully and slowly. Be the example. Teach. Help. Offer a listening ear. Work together on a new idea. Plan slowly and carefully. A group should not be made in a day or a week. It should be talked about, planned, trialed, created with detail and thought. But I dearly hope anyone who does attempt change, succeed and makes our group a better place.
As a Jedi you are responsible to grow, join or create new projects, teach what you know, and learn new skills. It’s your responsibility to become trustworthy and honest. You will be asked to keep secrets and not to spread rumors and drama. If you need to reach out for help, you need to use caution of who to go to. When you teach you become responsible for the students. While you can’t control your students, you do need to guide them and teach them when they do wrong. Your actions reflect on them as much as the student’s actions reflect on you. You must talk to anyone who was affected by the student’s actions and let them know you will work with the student on this.
The last part of being responsible is making sure you aren’t taking more responsibilities than you can handle. It’s great to have a blog, a facebook group, a class, and a job, but when your job suffers because you are giving up sleep to do everything, then you aren’t being responsible with your life and your money. Don’t give up your healthy and your happiness to please everyone. This is your life and only you can live it. Make sure it’s the life you want.