Why Yoda Likes Yoga Pants

My body hurts. I’m too busy. I’m slow and probably look stupid. But I'm running anyway.

Sometimes it’s hard to get out. If I think too much I’ll never do it.

Better just to run.

Because when I finish I always feel better.

I might not look cool doing it. I make myself do it anyway.

---

I was out running the other day. About half a mile into my three miles I could hear distant voices following behind. I could hear two women softly chatting as they followed the same path.

I wondered about them. Do I know them? (They must be from the neighborhood). How long will they go? (I’m going three miles - will they keep up)?

Mostly I wondered if they were attractive.

Over the next two miles those voices kept getting closer. They were gaining. (This isn’t a short jog; they’ve been out for a while now. Maybe college students that run track? They must be hard core).

I hope they’re pretty!

They’re gaining. I hope I don’t look stupid. Obviously they are better runners than me because they are moving faster.

Finally the women caught up. They were both about my age and yes they were both VERY attractive. (You might even say gorgeous.)

They slowly began to pass.

But more.

They weren’t actually running.

They were... (Long Pause.)

... WALKING.

I was running.

They were walking.

They were passing me.

---

Professor Dunn told me one of the reasons he liked to practice kata.

He told me he had always been the big one, the strong one. The fighter.

But practicing kata forced him to do moves easier for smaller people. Leaping and landing on one foot, pivots, balancing. Skills that require grace.

Professor went said: “I like to have things in my life I’m not the good at. I like to have things that I can rub my ego against. Trying is more important than being best”.

Thanks Professor.

---

What will people think of me? I need to get in shape first. I don’t want to look stupid.

All of that is ego. Ego says: “Stay here with me where it’s warm and safe”.

Yoda said: “There is no try; there is only do”.

Yoda wanted Luke to use the Force.

But the Force isn’t just floating around the Universe. The force is inside you.

You use the force when you act in spite of your fear!

The other day my waitress used the Force.

She was young; shy. It was her first job.

She didn’t WANT to come up and talk to strangers. She didn’t FEEL like smiling and making small talk.

She FORCED herself.

It was obvious she was using the Force. You could see it in her hands. It’s power coursing through her veins made them shake.

Something about being in the presence of someone facing fear is humbling. If you were to interview the people at the table they would all say: “I don’t know what it was; but I really liked the waitress”.

Everyone she waited on felt touched. Most wouldn’t realize on a conscious level it was because of the energy she was transmitting.

Her presence gave us more nourishment than the food she served.

Her tips were huge.

...

Use the Force. Join the play. Sing in the choir. Sign up for martial arts.

You don’t have to be good. You don’t have to lead. All the Universe is asking is that you participate.

Someone said:

 “If you’re not the lead dog in the pack the view is always the same”.

But you DON’T always have to lead.

Whoever said that forgot to mention one thing. Sometimes the view from the back is just fine.

Especially if the people who pass you are wearing yoga pants.