Here is the Star Wars A New Hope movie filming model of Luke Skywalker’s Land Speeder. The model # is designated, T-34 or X-34 depending on where you do your research. It was incredible to see it up close and see the intricate details of this filming Landspeeder prop. There was a life sized and much smaller scaled model of the landspeeder on display at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose in 2013.

Luke Skywalker loved his Landspeeder. Even though, it was banged up and old, he maintained its performance. Being in the harsh environment of Tatooine, Luke tinkered with this old Landspeeder. This ship floated about a meter above the ground with its powerful repulsorlift engine and trio of air-cooled thrust turbines.

Luke sold his Landspeeder so that he could use the money to help pay Han Solo for passage to Alderaan on the Millennium Falcon. It was a sacrifice for Luke to sell his beloved Landspeeder. He spent a lot of hours maintaining it. So this vehicle had sentimental value. He sold it after the death of his aunt and uncle. Luke was moving on.

We do not have the privilege yet to own a Landspeeder. But many of us can remember our first car. My brother loves his first car. He bought a Volkswagon Scirocco 39 years ago and still kept it. He does not drive around with this old car but occasionally moves it around the block. He leaves the car outside and still admires it.

Luke’s sacrifice teaches us sometimes we need to let go of something we love to move on in life. Luke needed to move on as “The Force” was leading him to eventually be a Jedi. His aunt and uncle were gone. He had a new calling. He needed the money to move on. So he was forced to sell his Landspeeder. He kept it even though it was old and battered. He did not care about getting the newest technology. He was smart to tinker with it to keep it working. Luke was ready to move to his next step in life.

What are we holding on to that we need to let go of? I played a lot of video games when I was single. I bought a Playstation 3 thinking this was a good way to entertain myself and enjoy being single. Well, since I got married, I no longer have time for games. I had to move on to new responsibilities and activities – i.e. learning to blog and taking care of my 99 year old mother-in-law.

I learned I had to move on in my next stage of life and embrace changes.

Tinkering is a good skill to learn. As I have been expanding on how I want to do digital photography and create my network, I’ve been learning how to tinker to make things work. Technology keeps changing. I recently upgraded my system after 10 years. I keep playing around figuring out how I need to hook everything up and how to view my photos. Learning is an ongoing process.

Can we learn to get around without possessions which stop us from moving on?

Reflect —

• Getting around to the next life stage and lose what you no longer need
• Dare to tinker

Photos Teach!