A Yoda for Our Children

When our son was thirteen years old, Claud gathered men who were important to him for our boy's initiation ceremony into manhood--a sort of Native American Bar Mitzvah for a child without any cultural heritage on which he could lean. It was an avant garde evening for sure. The men met in the woods, sitting in a teepee together, talking, until our thirteen year old was challenged by them with a predetermined conflict. Our son resolved a racial slur, one man toward another, with surprising acumen--and slept that night alone, on the side of a mountain, explicit instructions in mind. If he arose before sunrise, the snakes would still be sleeping. I'm sure he didn't sleep that night.

Housed within this initiation are elements of the Hero's Journey--
--The call to adventure--A road of trials --Achieving the goal --Returning to the ordinary world --And application of the learning--Rent Star Wars, and you'll see the same: The hero who answers the call to adventure, meets trials--(even that of a father who has chosen the dark path)--achieves his goal and returns to the ordinary world, equipped with an internal knowing.

We love that movie, watch it over and over, consider it a classic. It sold millions of toy Luke Skywalkers, and for years now, Chewbacca has been a part of our mythology. We see ourselves in each character--cheering for that part in us that is both foolish, young and heroic--repelled by the notion of ourselves as the evil Darth Vader who would consume his own. All of this twentieth century tale brought to vivid form in movie theatres is the ancient myth of the journey, and it is loved because it is a story about us.

Our daughter expresses a need for a village in which to raise her boy. There are older women and men who have collected her, expressed their care, initiated her into motherhood with showers and gifts and excitment for what is next. I hope that in the midst of this village, our grandson will find a wise one, not yet known, who will mentor him--some Yoda to offer guidance on his journey, until he knows the same within. And, I wish the same for us all--even believe it possible.