What does a mirror look at?
Frank Herbert
Obi-Wan didn't know why he hadn't seen it before. Now it was obvious, painfully obvious. The eyes were his, the Force signature was his but older, and he was disappointed to note that he apparently wasn't going to get any taller.
"You're me," he said. The old man, Ben, smiled sadly.
"You caught on fast. Master Qui-Gon hasn't guessed yet." Obi-Wan shifted awkwardly.
"Isn't there some sort of rule that you can't talk to me or you'll mess up the future?" he said.
"That's what I'm trying to do." Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "I won't tell you much. I don't think I can. I've tried to change the future by being here, by helping Anakin. I don't know if it will work. Chances are that I've failed somewhere along the line."
"I'm going to fail, aren't I?" The corner of Ben's mouth twitched.
"I did. The rest is up to you. I've tried to make your job easier than it would have been, but..." Ben trailed off. "Please listen to my advice. Take it or don't take it, I don't care. Just listen, please."
"I'm listening." Ben took a deep breath.
"Trust the Force. Whatever you do, you have to trust the Force."
"I know that-"
"Even if it doesn't make sense, even if it goes against the Code, you have to promise that you won't brush it off."
"I won't." Ben smiled.
"Balance... Balance doesn't mean light necessarily. There is always darkness, even if it is hidden. It's inside you and me, inside us all. Balance is making sure that neither light nor darkness consumes us, even if that means abandoning what we used to be."
"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan was becoming more and more frustrated with the older him. He was more infuriating than Yoda.
"You'll see," said Ben with a smile, and then he... faded away.