Hello, students of the Force,
I call you students, because all who walk the Path of the Jedi are lifelong students. Learning, for those who seek self-improvement, never ends, and so we never cease to be students.
Today I'm going to speak to you on the subject of death. Recently, and I won't go into detail that isn't necessary, my classmates, family and I have dealt with the deaths of 3 different people, all within a month of each other. Two of the deceased were less than 18 years old. Now, in the face of such tragedy, many ask themselves and their respective Gods, "Why would this happen? What reason could there be for such a horrible thing?"
Truly, the deaths of those people are unfortunate, unnecessary, and quite frustrating. I don't claim to know why such things have to happen. Why horrible people like terrorists and murderers are allowed to rot the earth with their presence, while beautiful, kind, excellent people must leave this world. But, I do know two things, which reassure me in the face of such adversity.
The final line of the Jedi Code reads, "There is no death; there is the Force." Now one may say, "Josh, of course there is death! People die every day!" Which is true. Millions of people pass away every single day, and there is very little we can do about it. However, this is where the puzzle lies. How do we define "death?" Death, as defined medically, is essentially the cessation of bodily functions. Now this is all well and good, but the error in this definition when put in spiritual terms is simple. "Bodily functions." When we "die," our body ceases all activity, but this is not the end. We are eternally and completely connected with the Force. It is the Force which gives us "life" in the first place. But life is something that cannot be completely defined. Life is something we have always, and it is never taken away. When we exist completely within the Force, as all things, people, and animals do, life can never be taken from us, for when we die medically, our energy becomes one once again with the all-providing Force, it does not dissappear.
To define life as the period of time we spend occupying a physical body is a gross oversimplification. Life is eternal, life is always, and life lasts forever. Life is the blessing of existance within the Force, which is something that never goes away.
Death is defined in the dictionary:
Death: 1. The end of life. The cessation of life.
Well, when you put it that way, death only occurs where life ends. As we discussed, life, existance within the Force, never ever ends. Well if life never ends, death cannot exist. Literally, indisputably, there is no death for anyone who walks in the Force.
The second reason why I am reassured during the time of someone's earthly death is because I know that everything happens for a reason. Now, this phrase has been repeated, repeated, and repeated again throughout the years. Everything happens for a reason. We've heard it so much that we've forgotten what it means.
Everything, down to the last twitch of the wings of a hummingbird, happens completely in harmony with the Will of the Force. There is no such thing as an accident. There are accidents in the sense that things happen which we do not intend, but there is no event that has occured, or ever will occur, that was not ordained by the Force.
The fourth line of the Code states, "There is no Chaos; there is Harmony." It states, very plainly, that chaos (the absence of order or symmetry) does not exist in a universe bound together by the Force, such as the one in which we live. There is only the total and complete harmony and order which, aligned with the Force, governs the events that take place in the universe. Nothing has ever happened that did not have a purpose. That being said, the purpose for any one event is unknowable by something as limited as a human being. We are not capable of comprehending the ineffible Will of the Force.
This being so, we can only trust in the Force, and rest easy in the knowledge that whatever happens in our lives occurs in accordance with an all-providing Force which exists as Love, Happiness, and Compassion in their purest forms. We must know that whatever happens, happens for our own good, and therefore, we must seek growth and happiness in anything that happens. There truly is a silver lining in every cloud. All we have to do is look for it.
May the Force be with you, always.
Jedi Knight Joshua McCall