30 day flash fiction challenge
8. The blind men and the elephant. The scorpion and the fox at the river crossing. The prodigal son. Fables and parables come from all corners of the world. Pick a favorite and write about it, or steal an element or two and use it in something new.
I’m cheating a bit. I wrote a parable for Jurial a while back but did not post it to Tumblr. It’s the last one--and the best, in my opinion--of the three. I planned to mess around with a retelling of other fables but Jurial had other plans.
On the nature of the Force:
Imagine a mountain. Inside, a reservoir of molten rock heated to fluidity by the planet's core. The molten rock comes to the surface and cools, forming stone. As more stone emerges and builds on what was there before, the mountain grows. It becomes taller and wider.
Rain falls and washes the stone away, grain by grain. It seeps into channels and freezes, cracking the rocks. Roots follow the water and pry the ground apart even more. All these things break the mountain apart and grind it down.
But these things never destroy it, because the mountain is always rebuilding itself.
The Force is like the mountain. The Light Side builds it up, the Dark Side breaks it down. The Force is always in balance.
On the Jedi Order:
Picture a tree. It has a strong trunk and branches spreading wide. Leaves cover the branches, some fresh and new, others old and faded. New leaves emerge constantly on new branches, reaching for the sun. Water and minerals flow from the roots to the leaves, and nourishment from the leaves to the roots. Growing and changing, the tree is never the same from one day to the next.
Insects eat the tender leaves. Some burrow into the bark. Leaves fall, twigs die, sometimes even whole branches succumb to disease. But the tree survives. It grows. It changes. In a hundred years it will look different but it is still the same tree.
The Jedi Order should strive to be like the tree. Every Jedi views their connection to the Force a little differently, just like no two leaves are exactly the same. Some of us are younger and not fully established, like a young leaf without its final shape. Others stand out, weathered and forged by experience. Our traditions and knowledge of the Force support us like the tree's stout branches. The Force flows through us, and our actions help sustain it.
We will face many challenges. Some outside the Order, some from inside. We must adapt to those challenges. Always strive for greater understanding and compassion. In a hundred or a thousand or ten thousand years our Order may not look the way it does today but its practitioners will still be Jedi. All who need it will still find shelter in the shade beneath our branches.
On How the Dark Side Differs from the Light:
Once there were two gamblers. They both went to the casino and sat down at the sabacc tables to play. One gambler thought of himself. He played his cards to win. The other players at his table were rivals. He used all his skill to make sure they lost. He was only happy when he won the pot. The casino was happy to see him, and gave him free drinks and free food so he would stay. He did win. Often. But he lost as well. At the end of the night, he had lost more than he won. The others at the table had lost more than they won. But he was happy, because the others had not done better than he.
The second gambler played differently. He was a skilled player as well and liked winning. He recognized that sometimes the cards would not fall for him. But they might fall better for another, and he could use his poor cards to ensure another’s win. He was happiest when he won, but so long as the casino did not win, he was pleased. The casino was not happy when he came to play, but they could not keep him out. At the end of the night, he left the casino with no more than he brought at the beginning, but the others who played with him at the table went home with more. He was happy.
Those who rely on the Dark Side are like the first gambler. Using their skills and knowledge of the Force for individual benefit alone. They may get ahead for a time, but in the end they lose. Society loses. Only chaos and evil win.
Those who rely on the Light Side are like the second gambler. Using their skills and knowledge of the Force for the benefit of all. A single Force user may be just that, but many beings gain because of their positive influence. Society becomes better for their presence.
This is why a weak Jedi is more powerful than a strong Sith. A Jedi makes others around herself strong. A Sith tears others down and ends up alone.