Facing our fears

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“What I am about to share with you right now is not an easy thing to accomplish,” Grogu says. 

‘Season Five of Star Wars: The Clone Wars features an episode titled, “The Gathering,” that you will not want to miss. It showcases a sacred Jedi tradition of the same name, in which younglings must journey to the planet Ilum and go into the crystal cave in search of their kyber crystals. These crystals help the future Jedi Knights focus the Force and are sacrosanct. But in order to acquire the kyber crystal, each student must face a unique test that forces them to face their weakness, in order to turn it into a strength.

The Force, like any good teacher, understands that no two students are alike. Each person has their own challenges they are working to overcome; the opening text tells us: “He who faces himself, finds himself.” With this in mind, six prospective Jedi face their own unique trials, and begin to understand that in order to attain the ultimate prize, they must first face the ultimate test.

Petro, a human from Corellia, is confident and competitive. He wants to be the first to find a kyber crystal, but ironically, ends up being the last. What he thinks is his crystal turns out to be nothing more than ice (which promptly melts); he has to race back into the cave to continue the search before the sun sets. He finds his friend, Katooni, trapped behind a sheet of ice, and actually leaves her to continue his search. But ultimately he realizes how selfish he is being, uses teamwork to help her escape, and immediately finds his own kyber crystal as a result.

Katooni, the Tholothian mentioned above, has the opposite test to endure. She doubts her ability to climb to the top of a hill in time, in order to get her crystal. She thinks it is too high and is not confident it will be safe or that she can make it all the way up. However, she learns to focus on conquering her self-doubt in order to meet her goal, which she soon does.

Gungi is a Wookiee who finds his kyber crystal rather quickly. The problem is that it is across a thin layer of ice that is not entirely stable. One step from Gungi confirms this. If he is to continue this path, he will freeze to death in the water. The Wookiee learns to be patient and wait for the sun to go down, so that the ice will freeze over, enabling him to walk across in safety and get his kyber crystal. While reluctant at first, Gungi meditates in the Force, resisting the urge to panic and races across the cold water, and as it turns to ice, slides across to his prize.’ (Source)

Let’s continue - Facing fears continued ….

Start at the beginning – A long time ago in a galaxy far far away …