After the famous scene in the swamp, I thought Yoda was a jerk.
When The Empire Strikes Back came out forty years ago, I was so excited to see it. I was not a rabid Star Wars fan, but I was a pretty enthusiastic 4th grader. Everything about the second movie in the Star Wars series was wonderful: I loved the story and the effects and the thrill and the characters. Well, everyone but Yoda. He was smart and could do cool stuff, but my relationship to him was tricky. It was because of the scene in the swamp. You know the one. The one that everyone uses to encourage people when they are lacking self-confidence or not really giving something their all.
It goes like this:
Luke, regarding the tragedy of his X-Wing sinking into the swamp near Yoda’s house says, in a fairly whiney tone: “Oh no! We’ll never get it out now.”
Yoda: “So certain are you.” Yoda sighs and shakes his head, “Always with you what cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?”
Luke: “Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different.”
Yoda, poking his walking stick emphatically into the ground: “No! No different. Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.”
Luke, with grudging agreement, trying to placate Yoda’s disapproval: “Alright – I’ll give it a try…”
Yoda, his eyes going wide with the focus of a perturbed Jedi: “No! Try not! Do or do not. There is no try.”
Then Luke does the whole hold your hand out and try to levitate a huge object Jedi thing, which works for a second, but then it slides back into the swamp. Then Luke says the ship is too big. Yoda then goes into a brief explanation of the Force and where it comes from, yadda yadda (Yoda yadda?), and Luke gives up and goes off in a sulking huff and sits down among a tangle of swamp roots.
Yoda, resigned to having to show this tantrum-having Skywalker how it’s done, levitates the huge X-Wing out of the swamp and delivers it on to the shore. R2 is, of course, completely delighted. Luke walks around ogling his now-land-dwelling ship.
Luke, shocked and stunned: “I don’t – I don’t believe it.”
Yoda, resigned and deliberate: “That is why you fail.”
It is a great scene. It’s full of information about the story, education about philosophy, good teaching by a slightly exasperated guru, and many quotable lines. But for a perfectionist kid who always expected herself to be able do things perfectly on the first attempt, it turned out that, “No! Try not. Do or do not. There is no try” was a fast track to a boat-load of anxiety. That same kid also happened to loathe being told what to do, so it was also a quick hop to deciding that Yoda was a jerk.
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I remember thinking, “What?! He can’t even try again? He just has to DO it?! Not everyone is a Jedi Master right out of the gate… jeeeeze…” Yoda and his weird bossiness pissed me off for the better part of two decades because of his famous line. And at the age of nine, I didn’t realize that I was behaving and thinking just like Luke.
But then, about 15 years after I first saw that scene, I started practicing yoga.*
The first time my yoga instructor said, “It’s yoga practice, not yoga performance. Don’t try so hard,” something clicked. It’s practice… don’t try so hard. She explained that what mattered was not the depth of movement, but its accuracy. I had to learn to “try” the right way, and when I could do that, I would be “doing” yoga.
I suddenly and totally got it. Attitude was the key. It was necessary to change my belief about what it meant to “do” yoga and pay attention differently. I knew I could pay attention to detail in other things, so I did the same here. I believed that I could learn and do it, so I did. When tried the right way, my practice expanded and became more proficient. **
What I learned was that when you try the right way you are doing it. It’s about attitude and effort – not the quantity of either, but the quality.
And that’s what Yoda was trying to get it through Luke’s thick skull: if you practice or attempt things the right way – with focus, belief, and commitment – you will be doing it because that’s how practice works. Luke didn’t believe he could levitate an X-Wing. For him, his “I’ll try” was a half-hearted attempt to prove his own limitations. But he didn’t really try – he didn’t commit and, therefore, he didn’t do. He was not curious about his own beliefs or ability. Which is why he failed.
What does any of this have to do with character? Everything.
Character is developed in both what we do and the attitude with which we do it. Being open and curious about our own potential and ability is vital to our growth as people of character. If we believe we can improve at things and practice in the right way, we generally do. We may not become Jedi Masters, but we won’t be complete duds either.
Believing we can learn and improve is beautiful when it comes to character because it is self-sustaining. If we believe we can learn and practice well, we gain confidence that we can draw on the next time we learn, practice, and do. It is a virtuous cycle. This is true for all character traits. When we commit to listening well, showing kindness, being truthful, having fortitude, and so on, we demonstrate our character, even if imperfectly. We are not only trying to be of character, we are of character.
I no longer think Yoda was a jerk. That says something about the truth of good teachers – they get through eventually. It also says something about the value of being committed to curiosity and learning: you never know when you might finally get the lesson.
* I’m sure there’s a Yoda Yadda Yoga class out there someplace – or there should be! Philosophy, chatting and exercise – I love it!
**I can’t levitate myself or an X-Wing, but I really enjoy my yoga practice.
