So What if My Guru is a Muppet?
Some of the wisest words of wisdom I’ve encountered come from Yoda.
When I was a small child, my parents took me to see a movie that would have a tremendous impact on my life. In 1977, Star Wars was this mesmerizing, amazing piece of fiction that had so many unexpected nuances wrapped into Campbell’s Hero’s Journey amid spaceships, lasers, and swords made of light.
Yes, I’m well aware of the imperfections in the story and that it’s not high drama. You can’t deny, however, the cultural phenomenon that it began. From that one movie, a whole industry emerged, and you could argue that the current greater acceptance of geek culture in the mainstream started here.
Then, in 1980, the second movie came out, The Empires Strikes Back. It was dark, it revealed an unexpected plot twist, and it featured multiple losses, but without loss of hope. It also introduced a character with a level of wisdom I’d never encountered before.
Yoda is from a species never identified, even to this day. He is one of 3 known to Star Wars fans, which include Yaddle and Grogu. He lived to be 900 years old. His speech patterns are bizarre and unlike any other character in the series.
Throughout Star Wars and its movies, cartoons, and live-action shows, Yoda has provided a tremendous amount of sound wisdom. I quote him often because that wisdom isn’t just reserved for sci-fi. It applies to our everyday life.
Yes, I admit, Yoda is my guru.
My guru is a Muppet
I watched The Empire Strikes Back in the theatre probably a dozen times. After that, I rewatched it first on VHS, then on DVD, and now via streaming. It is arguably the best movie in the series. It was also the introduction of the Jedi Master Yoda.
This tiny, green, gremlin-like creature, voiced by Frank Oz, took the idea of the Force, the mystical energy that powers the Jedi, and gave it a whole new spin. You could do more than sway the thoughts of the weak-minded, create distractions, and instinctually wield a lightsaber. You could also use telekinesis to lift rocks, throw equipment around, and other astounding feats.
How? By opening your mind. You had to be open to the Force to use it.
Before you start to think I’m some kind of nutter, yes, I know the Force isn’t real. That doesn’t mean I didn’t try to move objects with my mind from time to time. How cool would that be?
From the depths of the Force is the wisdom Yoda spouts. It’s not wisdom reserved for this sci-fi universe. It applies to us and our lives, here, on Earth, today.
Yoda was modeled in no small part from the Buddha. Hence, much of his esoteric wisdom is expressed in a similar manner. When you’re a 9-year-old kid, and this is your first introduction to this sort of philosophy, it can make an incredible impact.
This is why I unabashedly accept and share how Yoda, a Muppet, is my guru.
Three trilogies, three wise sayings
Since the first Star Wars movie, now commonly called Episode IV: A New Hope, there have been two other connected trilogies. Each is approximately 30 years apart from the other. Yet in each of these, Yoda has provided some amazingly sage advice with a depth of meaning akin to any other guru.
It all began with The Empire Strikes Back, and the words I frequently quote and have picked apart most of my adult life.
“Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”
As a kid, I struggled to understand. How can you do something without trying it? From a purely literal standpoint, my reasoning is sound. When you dig deeper, it’s a much more important statement.
Prior to saying those words, Luke half-heartedly said he’d “try” to raise his X-Wing fighter out of the swamp. That half-hearted “try” was what Yoda was addressing.
Lots of people give lip service to “trying” this, that, or the other thing. They don’t truly DO it. With a few exceptions, half-assed action gets half-assed results. “Try not” means don’t half-ass it, “do or do not”, give it your all.
It goes deeper, still. Action is how we grow and evolve. Doing is action. When you merely try, with weak intent, that comes with weak action. Ergo, trying rather than doing is less productive and effective.
Mindfulness is active, conscious awareness. It is the real-life epitome of “do or do not.” That’s because only via active, mindful action can you control your life experience, choose your paths, and do what you desire.
Not bad advice from a fictional character, right? That’s why Yoda is my guru.
My guru the Muppet’s additional wisdom
As I wrote above, there are three trilogies of Star Wars films. At the end of the 1990s into the early 2000s, George Lucas gave us the prequels.
These are, unfortunately, flawed in many ways. However, the return to the galaxy far, far, away still made me extremely happy.
A slightly younger Yoda played a prominent role in these films. Once again, he offered sage wisdom way beyond the scope of a sci-fi universe.
“Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
This is important because we live in a fear-based society. Fear is around us all like a warm, down blanket, and we don’t always recognize this. Advertising sells us shit based on our fears of missing out, being lesser, and the like. Politicians weaponize fear to stir us up and get us angry so that we will support them and act against our own best interests. This all leads to unnecessary suffering, doesn’t it?
Yoda knew what he was on about.
The more recent sequel trilogy, starting with The Force Awakens in 2015, gave us another amazing bit of sage wisdom from Yoda in The Last Jedi.
“The greatest teacher failure is.”
I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned as much, if not more, when I’ve failed as when I’ve succeeded. Failing doesn’t mean we’re bad, we’re wrong, or any other negatives. It means we did something that didn’t work.
Welcome to being human. We are perfectly imperfect beings. When we fail – and we all will – it’s not death or the ultimate ending. It’s a chance to learn. When we learn from our failures, we grow. That’s why Yoda’s right – failure really is the greatest teacher.
It’s the wisdom, not the guru, that matters
Even the gurus of the real world, who aren’t from a wide-ranging sci-fi series, are fallible. They’re imperfect. Some of their advice is wise and some foolish. They might come from a place of privilege or a place of poverty. Some of their personal beliefs might be reprehensible while others are incredible.
The wisdom that we get from them matters most. Especially when it rings true to and for you.
Yoda is my guru because so much of what he says has been true to my perspective of life, the Universe, and everything. It resonates with my values and has offered guidance when I’ve gotten stuck along the way.
Maybe my guru is a Muppet, but that doesn’t mean the ideas he shares aren’t worthwhile and amazing.
I believe the largest message he offers is this: be open to possibilities and potential beyond what your senses recognize. It’s all about energy, whether you call it God, the Universe, the Powers-that-be, the source, or the Force. We are it and it is us. Connecting to it isn’t hard, we just need to be open. That’s where wisdom lies, and it’s not just for some, it’s available to all.
Thank you, Yoda, for opening me to this.
What gurus, if any, have inspired you along the way?
This is the six-hundred and thirty-seventh (637) exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – applying mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.
I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.
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