Yoda was usually wrong, but not always
In that one bit of Empire
he chastises Luke for not
staying in the present,
for not keeping his mind
on where he is,
what he is doing.
And look,
Yoda missed a Sith lord
working in an office
down the hall,
and he gave the
green light
to training Vader,
but on this one
he was right.
(Tell your sister.)
So was the Buddha,
who said pretty much
the same thing
with better syntax.
But it sure ain’t easy
to Be Here Now,
as the t-shirts say.
Especially when you’d
rather be somewhere else,
somewhere
very specifically
else.
In fact I can
point to it on a map.
To the town,
to the street,
even,
if I had my way,
to the specific floor
of the specific building.
I do try,
really I do,
to enjoy where I am.
The people,
the fun things,
the battles won,
or at least fought.
It’s just that
the map I own
has had the same X
marked on it since
I was six years old,
and I have reached
what even a charitable
observer
would have to call
the later innings,
and so the pull,
which has always
been strong,
is becoming
unbearable.
Like the guy said,
though,
do or do not,
there is no try.
Get busy living
or get busy dying.
Hey, I’m walking here.
/ / /
26 October 2026
Charlottesville VA
