Diversity
Letter from Gandalf the White wondering if we should reach out to a wider audience...by: Gandalf the White Subject: Gandalf suggest that we maintain our diversity and also to reach out to other groups..not just Jedi
Greetings to my other Jedi friends. I'm doing well, thank you for asking my dear. I was just talking with Elrond about "change". We were sitting outside, puffing on our long stemmed pipes and watching the beautiful sunset. I was blowing smoke rings into the rosy, amber sky, adding a touch of grey to it all, like I always do. Old Toby really is the finest weed in the South Farthing! Windy old fart, aren't I? So it is with old wizards. We have little to do but chat on at retirement speed, which is a very slow speed indeed.
Anyhow, Elrond and I were discussing about how the Universe needs change in order to function, and how it's constantly expanding. Nature gives the Earth change through the seasons, rain, snow, storms, floods and earthquakes. There is constant change in Nature, even if it's the slow melting of the glaciers or the shifting of the continents. Your own Shimi said: "You can't stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting."
Change gives us the potential for new growth and escape from stagnation. There is no need to fear change as long as we trust in the will of the Positive Power (Force). The Positive Power (Force) will guide us through our life's many journeys according to our destiny, so there is no need to fear change - if we see it in the right light. The saying, "There are no accidents" especially applies to change. Trust change.
Maybe it's time for change in the Jedi Sanctuary too? The Jedi Sanctuary is perceived to be exclusively Jedi, and closed to others on the outside. My friends, the Jedi are not the only ones who try to serve the Positive Power (Force). Why not open your ULC group to other Light-Side groups like the LOTRists, Taoists, Zen Buddhists, and Native Americans, just to name a few. Each group can have their own teachings within the Sanctuary.
The strength of a quilt comes from its many patches of different sizes, shapes and colors. There is strength in diversity, and the Jedi are missing out on this wonderful diversity. Open your ULC group and your hearts to others, and you will see the difference. The Middle Earth would have been destroyed had not we all joined together; Elves, Men, Hobbits, Ents, Dwarfs, Wizards - together we created an alliance of Light that was too strong to be conquered by the encroaching darkness.
I would personally feel more comfortable to post more messages if you would re-name your group to something like the "Alliance Sanctuary" instead of the "Jedi Sanctuary". That way, it would be opened to everyone, not just Jedi. I also recommend that you re-open your group to the general public instead of only having a closed Yahoo group, even if it means starting a new Yahoo group with a new name, and transferring everyone over. (I know the Yahoo rule that says once you have a closed group, you can't re-open it again.) This will require a little work, but it will encourage others to freely join your group and post messages. If visitors are rude and tactless you should moderate them. That's why you have moderators, isn't it? So don't be afraid to use them.
It takes a lot of courage to write your opinion in public because you take a chance to be criticized and attacked. I would like to respectfully take off my wizard's hat to those who try to write meaningful messages in any on-line group. I hope that you will consider re-naming your group and opening it up to other groups and the Public. Many blessings to you all! -Gandalf the White
Gandalf also wrote to us:"To ourselves we must present the absolute ideal without compromise, for we do not know our own limits of natural strength and grace, and if we do not aim at the highest we shall certainly fall short of the utmost that we could achieve." -J.R.R. Tolkien (Letters, no. 246, to Eileen Elgar, 1963)
How true this quote is my friends! If we really want to achieve something, we have to push ourselves to the maximum and be relentless in our pursuit. We have to be just like Aragorn, Legolas and Grimli as they tracked the Uruk-Hai. They pursued the Uruk-Hai Orcs with all their heart and strength in order to save Merry and Pippin, even though things turned out differently than they planned. Still, they gave their best possible effort.
We have to aim at the highest goal that we can achieve and go for it wholeheartedly. Many blessings! -Gandalf the White
"A Wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."
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