There is a lot of wisdom to be found in Star Wars.

I am not a fan of Science-Fiction. To be honest, I am not even a fan of watching movies at all.

But when it comes to “Star Wars,” things are different. I love “Star Wars.”

While some folks are annoyed by the saga, others see it as a masterpiece of modern culture. You either love it or hate it. But maybe I can convince some of these haters with this article.

It’s the fourth of May, or as “Star Wars” fans say #maythe4thbewithyou!

The force is one of the main topics in all movies of the saga. It’s about the life force that lives inside every organism. Those of us who practice yoga refer to it as prana. Spiritual folks call it energy. And George Lucas called it “the force.”

Speaking of George Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars”—did you know that he was inspired by the Bhagavad Gita?

If you have never watched any of the movies, maybe it’s time to give it a try? As I don’t want to ruin it for you by analyzing the entire plot of the story (spoiler alert), I would like to share my favorite quote from Master Yoda with you.

Here’s the quote from “Star Wars” that we should all look at the next time we lose our sh*t:

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” ~ Master Yoda 

Let’s think about the last time we felt anger. Where did that feeling come from? Did fear play a role? What was the outcome of expressing our anger?

There aren’t many cases in life where anger is helpful. Many of us watch the ongoing Johnny Depp trial and notice that conflict only gets worse when we let our emotions take over.

But as Johnny Depp noted in the hearings, there is no point in hitting someone to convince them. I would like to add that hate also doesn’t convince anyone in an argument.

I guess we can all agree that using violence is not acceptable in any argument. But what about abusive language? I know it’s unpleasant to admit, but let me ask you one question, “Did you ever insult someone on social media because you were really offended?”

Maybe because a billionaire wants to buy Twitter? Or because the Supreme Court wants to make abortion illegal? There are many topics that grind our gears these days.

And maybe it’s because we are afraid of something? We might be afraid that we could lose our freedom of speech, we might worry about our access to health care, and we have good reasons to feel itchy about these things.

But did anger and hate ever solve any problems? Or did these emotions actually make things worse?

Understanding that our anger doesn’t help anyone is pretty hard when we are full of fear.

So, let’s look at the context of this quote: Anakin Skywalker wants to become a Jedi. During his “job interview” with Master Yoda, they talk about Anakin’s fear for the safety of his mother.

There aren’t many things that are scarier for a little boy than losing his mom, which makes the context of the quote so powerful.

Every time we get angry, we feel that our anger is justified, and oftentimes, we have good reasons to feel angry—but it still doesn’t help.

And that’s why I love this quote so much.

Almost every fight I witnessed as an adult started with someone being afraid of something. Almost every argument on the internet starts because someone is afraid of losing something. And those of us who struggle with anxiety know the crippling effects of fear and anger.

Trying to control anger doesn’t mean that we have to give up on what caused our emotions. It’s about becoming aware of our anger before reacting in a way that makes things worse for everyone involved.

It’s about acting consciously to achieve our goals instead of getting blinded by our anger. It’s about taking action in a mindful way instead of throwing our emotions at others. It’s about being a mindful person that solves problems instead of creating new ones.

So the next time you are about to lose it, watch this scene from “The Phantom Menace”:

 

Which is your favorite Star Wars movie or quote? Please let me know in the comments.