It is your destiny.
— Darth Vader, Life Coach
The pre-socratic Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Character is destiny.” How can we put those three words of wisdom to work for us? And what does it have to do with Star Wars? You find the answer in your values.
Our values are the things that are important to us. Those may be the symbolic Values (capital V) of honor and justice or the closer to home values (lower-case v) like family and religion. Both are the things that give our life a purpose. The problem is that in the crazy busy world we live in today, our values often don’t get the time and attention they deserve. And that is too bad because putting values into action is how we develop Virtue.
It is almost like math (groan), but is it not math (Yay!)
It doesn’t have to stop there, you can have more than one value and thus more than one Virtue.
That is important because our Virtues determine our character.
And ,
So by living your values, you live with Virtue. By living with Virtue, you define your character. And that brings us back to Heraclitus, who reminds us, “Character is destiny.”
To wander back to Star Wars, we do find an excellent example. Anakin and Luke Skywalker have very different destinies because they have different values.
Luke is intelligent, wise, selfless, and brave, but also prideful, and impulsive. He has a sense of justice, loyalty, and good morals. These values make Luke selfless and willing to risk his own life to protect his friends.
As a child, Anakin was thoughtful, selfless, brave, and very intelligent for his age. As his fame grows, he becomes prideful, arrogant, and vengeful. Darth Vader is a product of a selfish vanity that the Emperor twist into a black helmeted villain.
When put into action, Luke and Anakin’s differing values lead to different characters with contrasting destinies. Vader can’t know Luke’s fate because Vader does not share Luke’s values and, thus, Luke’s character.
The Formula for Controlling Your Destiny;
Okay, it does kind of look like math when putting that way. However, unlike most of the math you learned in high school, this formula can make a difference in your life. So select your values carefully, put them into action, and try not to go over to the Dark Side.
