This autobiographical essay deals with several main pursuits I’ve had over the course of my life, ranging from film and music to ecology and the system sciences, while also focusing on my particular interest in and interpretations of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” films. In the end, though, the essay is fundamentally about how I came to see that an appreciative perspective is the one most worth having, how Appreciative Inquiry then came to be a big part of my life, yet how it took even further insights for me to begin to take real steps toward living consistently with my ideals. Much more has continued to happen in this vein even since I wrote the essay, but the responses it has generated convince me that it remains worthwhile reading, particularly for those who find obstacles coming up during their pursuit of positive change. Because it is a personal story, I flagged this submission with industries that arise as concepts in the essay. The complete web address for the essay would not fit in the form. You can use the link below and then click the title of the essay, or you can paste this complete address into your browser: http://potluck.com/2005/11/forcing-the-balance-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worshiping-star-wars-and-understand-myself/