uncertain_dume: (Whats The Word)
Kanan Jarrus, The Last Padawan ([personal profile] uncertain_dume) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2019-05-13 06:47 am
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Tao of a Silly Old Bear, Monday, Period Two

Once again, class was outside, in the park. Which apparently meant they were sitting amongst some ferns that were about the same size as Kanan today, while little leather-winged reptiles peered down at them from the treetops. Kanan didn't seem terribly concerned about the pterodactyls, nah. They were more reminiscent of animals from his neck of reality than most creatures he was used to on the island.

"So, we live in a jungle now, I guess," Kanan said, like it wasn't really a big deal. Given he didn't have any particularly terrible feelings about this, it probably wasn't. And the novelty of waking up to a tiny rainbow-spotted deinonychus hopping around on his legs demanding walkies mostly just made him go, 'sure, Fandom.' "Which isn't going to stop us from talking Tao, no. This week, we'll be discussing P'u, or the Uncarved Block."

It was about that moment that the tiny rainbow-spotted deinonychus trotted over to Kanan from where he'd been digging around in some ferns, made a sound that attempted to be reminiscent of a bark, waggled his butt around a little, and then took a seat on one of Kanan's feet. Kanan shrugged, crouched down, and gave him a scratch under the chin while he continued speaking.

"The principle of the Uncarved Block is described, in the book," that book about that bear, "as, 'things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed.' It applies to things and people both. One of the examples the book cites is that the bear and the little pig were considering going around to visit their friends. The little pig kept growing more distressed, because he couldn't come up with a good enough reason to visit each and every one of them. The bear decided that all the reason they needed was to wish them all a happy Thursday, and that was good enough."

He stood again, and Stance looked around at the students, tongue lolling out of the side of his big dumb rainbow-spotted lizard face, and then decided to give a trot around to say hello, just for the sake of saying hello. Yes, he was absolutely still trying to wag his tail.

"Basically," Kanan continued, "the lesson of the Uncarved Block is that when you discard arrogance and complexity, life gets a little bit more enjoyable. It's not quite the same as 'ignorance is bliss,' it's more that there's a sort of beauty in the quiet, the natural, and the plain. I don't think I'd personally advocate for never thinking, but it can't hurt to keep in mind that sometimes, there really isn't any harm in acting spontaneously, just because. So that's what we're going to do today. Enjoy the park, throw a stick for the dog - trust me, he's a dog, he actually looks more like the dogs back home this way than he usually does - watch birds for a bit. Play hide-and-seek, sit and chat, go introduce yourselves to the lizards that replaced the playground equipment overnight, do whatever spontaneous thing comes to mind. The park is safe, just a little weird today. I don't think the island is exactly embracing the concept of P'u at the moment, but we can work with this."

Because it's Monday.
seriesofbaddecisions: (hand on hip)

Re: Talk to the TA!

[personal profile] seriesofbaddecisions 2019-05-13 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Which was good, because Sabine was pretty resolute about not finding pinecones.

She was here, and still probably the worst TA for this particular class.