Ten Philosophical Viewpoints on Which Yoda and I Agree.

1. 'Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.' It is a bit of a semantic one this. I do believe in giving things a go, you can only 'try', and the worst that can happen is you fail miserably and feel stupid and/or embarrassed. But if you are going to 'try', you might as well 'just do it' (to borrow from the dreadful/wonderful world of advertising): trying holds a sense of failure, doing a sense of determination, regardless of outcome.
2. 'Luke: I don't believe it [remarking on Yoda's using the force to remove his ship from the bog]. Yoda: That is why you fail.' Belief. It makes all the difference doesn't it. I used to believe you could wear cream and white together and so I could. Now I question it and I can't. Doesn't stop me believing is some other fashion questionables: socks and high heels, mini skirts on over forties, yellow and pink in the same outfit ...
3. 'Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by size do you.' This has numerous applications: good things in small packages; the magic, not the wand; healthiness, not peer pressure or media pressure. Ultimately this is the ol' faithful 'not judging by appearances'.
4. 'Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.' Freedom starts with this precept. From here you can go anywhere.
5. 'Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is.' This is similar to number four—just the ultimate thing you fear to lose. I always thought I could handle any death but Bodhi's. There is pain, but there is also a joy, albeit imbued with emptiness. Now I know Bodhi is 'transformed into the force' and is still there. There is nothing to fear.
6. About Luke: 'This one a long time have I watched. All his life he has looked away ... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm. What he was doing. Hmph.' Now, no now, no now, eek. This moment is the only moment you have. Are you here? What are you doing with it? Are you enjoying it, making the most of it? Slippery little bugger, but your slippery little bugger.
7. 'Luke: Is the dark side stronger? Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.' It seems unfair that the light side takes more work. If there is an ultimate being, a creator suggested by creation, (s)he has a sick sense of humour or a selfish idea of what makes entertainment. Would (s)he be bored if it was easy to be 'good' and people had to go out of their way to be 'bad'? Would people go out of their way? This is straying too close to thesis territory and I am only writing this list so that I can avoid writing about my thesis for a moment so it doesn't do to discuss similar things here—I get funny in the tummy.
8. 'You must unlearn what you have learned.' Knowing things sometimes holds you back—it curbs your imagination, it keeps you on the path. The path is not always where it's most exciting and challenging to be.
9. 'Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.' You change your future with your now, but not always in perceptible ways, or concievable ways. It is hard to see what the repurcussions of the smallest actions will be. Don't worry about the future—it will happen anyway. Make sure you concentrate on what's happening now and you'll never have to worry about getting there.
10. 'If no mistake have you made, yet losing you are ... a different game you should play.' Unfortunately this philosophy smacks a little too much of rah-rah I recieved endlessly in another job I had once: 'the definition of insanity is to do the same thing today as you did yesterday, and expect a different result'. I was getting desperate for a tenth thing for the list. I had already pulled this quote from some obscure Star Wars spin-off. I am going to have to reluctantly say that it is a philosophy that makes sense. Oooh, that hurt. Obviously I am not over that place yet.