Melinda's Brew: The Force Springs Forth

Can you feel it? There’s an energy pulsing through the air. It’s palpable. It’s electrifying. It’s so strong I can feel it coursing through every pore of my being.

Spring has sprung!

You might argue that I am a little behind the times. After all, the calendar marked the beginning of the season last month. But for those of us who live in the northern portion of the Northern Hemisphere, March 20 or 21 [depending on the given year] is merely another day of winter. March, April and even parts of May “enjoy” the lingering days of winter – nasty, wet sleetfalls, cold temperatures and wicked winds. Goodness, it has snowed in May here in southeastern Wisconsin! Even the return of robins and the tiger lilies peeking through the near frozen tundra won’t make me cave in and say “spring has arrived.” There has to be quite a bit more evidence for me to make that leap.

A couple of days ago, I drove down to Chicago to spend some time with my mom. I try to make the short jaunt at least once a week, but sometimes my busy schedule gets in the way. As chance would have it, it had been three weeks since my last trip to the Windy City. What a difference three weeks can make! When last I drove the 68 miles, the grass was just starting to turn green – but the brown blades far outnumbered any green. A few trees had begun to bud – but that was more a result of February’s unseasonably warm weather. After five days of spring-like weather, Mother Nature spat in our faces, and we returned to “normal” February weather. The trees have been frozen in time since then, and quite frankly, I have fretted that the trees would not recover from Mother Nature’s cruel trick.

On Friday, however, Mother Earth was experiencing her rebirth. The barely leafed-out trees were resplendent in their green glory. Flower beds were awash in hues of reds, yellows, pinks and purples. A sweetness filled the air – and my lungs – and I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. Spring had returned!

Later in the day, as I made my return journey, I allowed my eyes to feast on the verdant scene around me [don’t worry; I paid attention to my driving 😉 ]. Mile after mile, I let my mind wander. That usually means I’ll come around to musing about Star Wars. 😉 I couldn’t help but think about Rey and what she must have been feeling, thinking about as she gazed through the Falcon’s viewport as Han Solo piloted the legendary ship into its landing on Takodana. It’s almost as if Rey is going into a Force trance [although she certainly wouldn’t experience it as such; she had no acumen for the Force yet. She wasn’t even sure if the Force was real at this point in “The Force Awakens”.] The serene look on her face, the way her eyes are hooded certainly implies that’s what is happening to her as she gets her first dose of a planet teeming with life. Coming from the barren world of Jakku, her senses must have been overpowered by what they were experiencing on Takodana.

I don’t mean to imply that Jakku is devoid of life. It isn’t. Lifeforms exist on planets like Jakku and Tatooine, just like they do in the arid regions of our own country. Sometimes one just needs to look more closely for them [for the beauty deserts depict, too]. Yet, growing up on Jakku as she did, and living such a secluded life as she did, it is no wonder Rey was both in awe of and overpowered by the lush world of Takodana. I, for one, got the instant feeling that for the first time in her life, Rey felt the strong connection to the world around her [much like Yoda explained to Luke on Dagobah]. That initial awakening enabled Rey to experience the Force visions when she touched Luke’s lightsaber … at least in my opinion. Her first reaction may have been to run from the Force … but when imprisoned by Kylo Ren and then when she battled Snoke’s protégé, Rey taps into her dormant Force abilities. Maybe having some special abilities isn’t such a bad thing after all. 😉

If you have seen the trailer for “The Last Jedi” [that was released at the Star Wars Fan Celebration earlier this month], it appears that Rey will undergo Luke’s tutelage on Ahch-To. [I am excited to see what facets of Yoda’s approach to Jedi training Luke mirrors, and what, if any, alterations he has made to put his own spin on the teachings. 🙂 ] We’ll get to see whether Rey embraces becoming a Jedi … or not. But there’s no denying – the Force has been awakened in Rey, and there’s [likely] no turning back. Just like there’s no turning back from the fact that spring has arrived. Thankfully. 🙂