Today I woke up to the theme song to Stars Wars, my phone was ringing. Yep, despite many protests from family and friends, it’s my ringtone and no, I will not be changing it, I love it.
I met Yoda for the first time in 2007, long after he came into being. (Shocked, I was to have met him so late). What can I say, I’m a late bloomer. I watched Star Wars for the first time then and I was captivated. Since then I’ve loved listening to the pearls of wisdom. My favourite being: “No. Try not. There is no try. Only do or do not.” My friends shake their heads and roll their eyes each time I quote Yoda as a solution, especially when I imitate his voice, especially when we are in public. Then, I was reading Paulo Coelho’s blog the other day and his character of the week was Master Yoda himself. That’s right…Yoda is wise.
You wouldn’t expect wise words by just looking at him. He’s small and old but as he even says: “Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”
So, last week I headed out armed with words of wisdom; ready to share. I discovered that people can hear but are they listening? Firstly, while teaching the topic of “pop culture” to my English conversation class I noticed a slide with Yoda, I took the opportunity to introduce them to Master Yoda. As an example, I used: “Clear, your mind must be if you are to discover the real villains behind the plot”. The students all pointed out the grammatical errors. I tried to explain that this was the manner in which he spoke. They felt strongly that these grammatical errors where not fitting of a “Master”. So, I quickly changed the topic.
I then opted to say “may the force be with you” instead of goodbye for the day. This worked for a while until I got to town. Unfortunately for me some of the people in town thought I was trying to bewitch them.
“Why ngathi uyas’loya? (Are you bewitching us?)
“Wh-What? No,” I tried to explain: “No, I meant the universes’ energy… You know, Yoda, Master Yoda?”
Blank stares and raised eyebrows.
I stupidly continue: “St-St-Star Wars…the movie? No?”
Silence
Then a little voice in my head said: “leave here you must.”
I smiled and did so, opting for the traditional, and very quick, “good bye”.
I guess some people just aren’t ready to hear the message!
J
Luke Skywalker: I don’t believe it
Master Yoda: That is why you fail