Rise

So everybody knows that I love Star Wars and that I rewatched my favorite one, The Rise of Skywalker, this week. There is such a powerful moment that I keep mulling over. When Emperor Palpatine has drained nearly all of the life force out of her, Rey lays on the ground, looking up at the bolts he has sent up into the sky to demolish the resistance fighters battling above. She can do nothing, but she begins to chant the mantra, “Be with me. Be with me.” It is then that she hears the voices of all the Jedi who came before her.

Their individual and collective words hit me like a freight train: “These are your final steps, Rey. Rise and take them. Alone never have you been. In the night, find the light. Every Jedi who ever lived lives in you. The force surrounds you, Rey. Feel it guide you as it guided us. Feel the force flowing through you. Let it lift you. We stand behind you, Rey. Rise. Rise!”

These, for me, represent the voice of the Spirit, the voices of our ancestors, and even the voices of those who will follow. There are more people than we can even fathom surrounding us and URGING us to rise. They know what we are made of, and during this discouraging time of lockdown and illness, when strength and motivation is gone, we have to internalize it ourselves.

The force will always be with you, y’all.