When Cassian returns from a dangerous heist in a dangerous place to a home he’s no longer welcome in, a planet crawling with the spies and soldiers of the Empire, most of whom are looking for him, he makes an uncomfortable discovery: Despite finally having all the money in the world, his adoptive mother Maarva won’t escape with him from this wretched place.
Maarva is old and tired, but she’s also tired of waiting. She chooses to stay and fight, to help the Rebellion however she can. Gracefully, however, she does not try to hold Cassian back. “You have a different path, and I am not judging you. Take all the money, and go and find some peace.”
It is then that Cassian realizes the money never really mattered: “I won’t have peace. I’ll be worried about you all the time.” And to that, Maarva only says: “That’s just love. Nothing you can do about that.”
When my girlfriend is out late at night, I am worried. When she takes a plane, I am worried. When my dad has a doctor’s appointment, I am worried. And when my sister is ill, I am worried. That’s just love.
The price of love is worry. You’ll worry about your partner drinking one too many, about your kids’ bus ride home from school, and about your best friend’s happiness at work. Love is the purest admission of caring there is. Without caring, there can be no love, but wherever there’s caring, there’s also worry.
When it comes to love, worrying is not a sign that something’s wrong. It’s a sign that everything is going right. You should be worried about your loved ones, and there’s nothing you can do about it — except learn to accept it.
The next time you wake up at night, fretting about someone you love, don’t let your brain run off into some horrific fantasy. Appreciate that worrying means caring, that life is big and you’re small, and that, wherever they are, whatever they are doing, deep down, they’ll always know their love is with you — and that is, always was, and forever will be enough.