Learning is a life long process (Closed, Neyasha)

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei was taking a slow walk one evening in the garden behind the LQ, watching the sky turn all its magnificent colors.

"Such a beautiful sight."

Wei walked a little more, then stopped, thinking. He was now a Knight. He supposed he should take a Padawan, but who? There were several Padawans without teachers at the GJO.

[Neyasha]

Neyasha, not having much to do today, was sitting in the garden on a bench, eyes closed, trying to free more of her emotions from the cage her homeplanet's military put them in.

Her task today is she is trying to feel sad, she wants to cry for her dead husband, her dead son, her daughter that has been taken from her....But as always...she is having no luck.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei looked up and noticed a woman that he had seen in the quarters not too long ago. Neyasha, her name was.

"Neyasha, what is it that you are doing?" He asked. "Your thoughts are dwelling on your family. Are you considering revenge again?"

Wei was not that great at sensing people's emotions and intentions, but the thoughts just radiated from her so well. It was like listening to someone talk when you were in a crowded room. You weren't trying to listen in on the conversation, but you hear the words anyway.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

[Neyasha]

Neyasha opens her eyes, and looks up at Wei... Her face without exprestion, and her voice with no emotion....

"I am trying to be sad, But with no progress... as for considering revenge I still do not have access to the emotions neaded to feal that sensation, and I don't know if you can help me. Nobody asid from my dead husband could."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei grinned. "I always held the idea that it was to someone's adavantage when he or she could not feel sad."

Wei bent at his knees and his middle, making himself short enough to look the woman in the eye.

"I'm sure your dead husband would want you to not dwell on his death. He would want you to move on with your life and be happy. Love is not self-seeking, Neyasha, and I know that your husband who loves you would want you to move on and be happy rather than live in the past and feel sad."

Wei stood up and beckoned Neyasha to follow him.

"As for revenge, I would think it also to be to your advantage to try your best not to feel those angry emotions associated with revenge, lest you fall to the Darkside. In fact, as far as your missing daughter is concerned, your main focus should be her safety, and not the destruction of several Dark Jedi. Killing and destroying do nothing to help the good of the world. The world naturally flows to a state of disorder and chaos: we do not need to help it along."

[Neyasha]

"My husband and son have been dead for two weeks now, My body wants to cry, but I can't because my emotions are not there. I have no intention to bring forth the emotions like Anger, or Fear....They will only get in the way. I do want to kill the dark jedi that took my daughter, but only so they can't take any more children.... but disorder and chaos have been my life... And my life would be incomplete with out it."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei tipped his head slowly from one side to the other as she spoke. At last he spoke. "Chaos and disorder was your entire life...once. But not so anymore," Wei said with a grin. "No, not at all will your life continue on being chaos and disorder. And your life will indeed be complete without those two horrid things called disorder and chaos."

Wei walked along with Neyasha a moment and finally asked, "If someone were to greet another person with a rude remark, how would that other person repsond?"

He was not at all sure she would be able to answer this questoin if he has asked her how she would have repsonded. But surely she had observed other people talking and would have seen one such situation as he described to her just now.

[Neyasha]

Even thought she may disagree with Wei, She does not comment on disorder and chaos anymore.... She Thinks about Wei's Question for a moment then answers...

"It would all depend on the person. Some people would ignore the comment, others would harm the the rude person, Others would get all emotional. I myself would ignore the comment, because for me word can not hurt."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei smiled. "Yes. A person would tend to get angry, or hurt somebody if they were treated rudely. But what if someone greeted another person with kindness?"

[Neyasha]

She Thinks about Wei's Question for a moment again then answers...

"Again, It would all depend on the person. Some people would be happy, others would smile, others would ignore the comment, others would complement the person, and other would get all emotional."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei grinned. "That's right. Most people do respond to a nice comment with a good attitude. Now why in the world would those two observations help Jedi keep the peace, and prevent chaos?"

Neyasha was a warrior. She would surely be able to make the connection.

[Neyasha]

"We treat others with Kindness, so they will be kind. but I don't see how that would prevent Chaos.... Chaos come from everything, even order. "

Neyasha starts to recite something that sounds like it has been programed into her brain. Probably the Code of her homeworld's military....

"Without Chaos there is no Order. Without War ther is no Peace. Without Shackles we can not be Free. Without Death one can not Live."

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Or rather, one cannot die unless they first live. But you are correct. Kindness yields kindness. Now, suppose you were to show a hostile person kindness. Don't you think they would be caught off guard by it?"

[Neyasha]

Neyasha considers the Idea of being kind to a hostile....

"Yes they would be caught off guard ... Giving me the time I would nead to subdue the Hostile"

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Yes. It would indeed give you time to subdue your opponent. But bear in mind, you should not put on an air of being kind to your opponent. It is a Jedi's place to help other people. We must help the angry and the sad find peace and happiness."

Wei continued walking and pushed up his glasses. "Thing is, being a Jedi is not so much about subduing or eliminating a threat, but rather, being a Jedi is about showing others a way out. People attack out of fear, or desperation. If you can make the fear go away, or solve the desperate man's problem, then not only have you saved several innocent lives, but you have also changed the life of a person who just minutes ago felt like their world was coming to an end. Do you see what I mean?"

[Neyasha]

Neyasha nods....

"But that does not always work... When A Sith Lord is charging at you with intent to kill, you don't try to help him find peace and happiness"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. Then we must fight. However, it is preferred that you only disable your opponent. Kill only on accident, so to speak."

Wei wiped his glasses off on his shirt tail. "But just because we fight with the intention of disarming our opponent does not mean that we hold back. When fighting, you must try to knock the heart out of your opponent. What I mean by this is that when you fight and defeat an opponent, he may be defeated physically, but in his mind he will still be trying to fight you. You must make it so that when you defeat him, he no longer has any desire to fight."

Wei looked up and saw a tree with thin, bendy branches. "This will be a good lesson for you to learn," he said. He walked over to the tree and found a low branch that came up to about Neyasha's chest.

"As you mentioned before, you will come across somebody who is rigid in their ideas and will not want to cooperate not matter what. You must never be that way. I have learned through experience that yielding to others and compromising is often the best solution."

Wei motioned for Neyasha to stand with her back right up against the tree branch he had chosen. "Please stand here."

[Neyasha]

Neyasha listens to what Wei has to say, and when she is asked to stand with her back up against the tree branch, she looks at him wondering what he is up to, then carefuly follows Wei's instructions.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei pulled the tree branch back, watching it bend under the force he applied to it. The tree branch did not break. Then he let it go.

THWAP! the branch returned to where it was and in the process, hit Neyasha across the back like a whip.

"Now, before you say anything else, let's do the same thing with a more rigid branch."

Wei took Neyasha over to a branch that was thicker, and did not bend. He stood her like she had been before and pulled on the branch with all his might. It broke off of the tree, but did not harm the lady.

"Now," Wei began, reaching out a hand to heal Neyasha's back. "The scrawny, flimsy branch hurt worse than the strong, rigid branch. Now why do you think that was?"

[Neyasha]

Neyasha's reaction is most likely not what Wei was expecting.... At the same instant that the Branch hits her back, her reflexes kick in ,and both of her daggers are in hand, and one is at Wei neck before he could blink and eye....

When she realises what she is doing, she stops herself and put her daggers away....

"I'm sorry.....my reflexs deamed you a hostile."

She continues with Wei's little demostration, and understands the point he is trying to get accross, and nods with understanding.....

"The flexable was able to take the stress you put it under and was able to strike back... Where as the other did not have the chance to strike because it broke under the stress."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei watched her reflexes kick in and saw the dagger come up to touch his throat, all without flinching. It was how she was "brought up." But that could all be changed. "No need to apologize. It is a natural thing for you to do."

Wei smiled as she understood his point. He'd gladly look down the barrel of a blaster every single day if it meant someone would understand as quickly as Neyasha did.

"Yes, of course. The flexible branch yielded to me, and as a result was able to do far more damage. We will talk more about what this means later on, when we learn combat training with the lightsaber."

Wei pushed up his glasses. "Neyasha, you have impressed me greatly here. You have understood all that I have taught you very well. If you would like, I will be happy to teach you about the Force, and what it means to be a Jedi. Or at least my thoughts on what it means to be a Jedi. As my Padawan I will expect only two things from you.

First, you must always do your very best. Secondly, you must promise me that you will not always be so quick to draw your lightsaber and fight.You must promise me to always try to find another way out in which no one will get hurt."

Wei stopped to think, then began again. "Also bear in mind that if I become your teacher, what I show you in our sessions is not the only way to do things. Being a teacher puts me in a position in which I can get to be very arrogant, because I have authority. So, instead of seeing my teachings as the be all to end all, I would rather you see my teachings as a set of notes, and I want you to compare your notes to other people's notes. Do you see what I mean?"

[Neyasha]

Neyasha listens keeping her face emotionless....

"I do my best at everything all the time.... But I can not promise anything in the way of solving problems with out weapons. You have seen what my reflexes have been programed to do when faced with hostile actions. But I can Promise that I will do my best to hold back my reflexes untill they are required. Though at this moment It will not be hard to solve problems with out a lightsaber, Because I do not have one."

Neyasha nod in understanding that his way is not the only way...

"I have already recived other forms of training to the point that there will be conflicts between what I know and what you will be teaching....but I have one question...The last time we talked, you were only a student....How can you be the teacher now?"

[Wei Wu Wei]

"I recently got promoted. My teacher thought that I had learned my lessons well and presented me before the Jedi Council. They also agreed that I was ready to go out on my own and promoted me to the rank of Jedi Knight. And if your training goes well, then someday you too will find yourself before the council to become a Knight."

"Just bear in mind that you must never ask for a promotion. If you knew when you were ready to be promoted, then what good would it do to have taught you, since if you knew when you were ready to move on you would already know everything?"

OOC: BTW, the asking about promotion thing applies to OOC too. Just in case you didn't know.

[Neyasha]

"Very well....Congraulations of your promotion. I hope I will not disipoint you with my skill.....I am read to start lessons any time you are ready to teach"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded. "I will contact you when I have decided on what to teach you first. Until then, relax your mind. And please do not focus on feeling your emotions. My Grandfather once told me that if you flow with the situations life brings you, and do not try too hard, everything will come to you. I find my Grandfather's advice to be very good. Most of my biggest accomplishments have required almost no effort. Think about that. Until we meet again, Neyasha."

Wei turned a corner on the path, once again thinking about the flowers and the sky has he had before. It was hard to believe that just a few minutes ago he had been talking to someone about the meaning of what it was to be a Jedi.

[Neyasha]

Neyasha Gives Wei a respectful bow.....

"As you wish, Master....I will wait for your message."

Neyasha turns toward the exit to the Garden and goes back to her room.