I remember when Netflix brought back one of my favorite cartoons series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Goosebumps riddled across my body, lifting my soul into ecstasy. Did I binge watch? Of course I did! Some of my friends who’d never seen it before were gonna get at least two episodes in too! The show presented a new world that was never seen before; bringing forth front eastern philosophy to the children of my generation. There were many universal truths the show touched on-one lesson stuck out with me during my marathon of nostalgia. It made me reflect on my journey God put before me.
For those who are not aware of the plot, the show takes place in a civilization where special individuals could use the energy around them to create certain magic (If you ask one of the main protagonist though, Katara will tell you it’s not magic!). The ability to use certain energies around them was called bending; the bending consisted of water, earth, fire, and air. And during this time period, their entire world was plunged into a war, fighting against the imperialism of one nation. Only one person known as the avatar (the only master of all four elements), could end the war peacefully. It would be 100 years before the avatar reemerged-at the twilight of the war. The late start forced the 12 year old to expedite his training to make up for the lost time. A las, he was accompanied by several protagonist for the duration of the series.
Throughout each episode, it touched on the harsh realities of war as family members dealt with loss, absence, and anything else you could think of how a world war affects your average person. It touched on genocide too-something that no children’s show had done before. There was a particular moral in one of the episodes that inspired me to write this. In an episode of the first season, one of the main protagonist Sokka, was given the opportunity to be reunited with his father. His father had left along with all the other men of his tribe to help with the war efforts. Sokka was only a kid when the life alternating event transpired. He’s about to take off before he’s hit with a flashback. It was the last conversation he had with his dad face to face before leaving. Sokka in his heart wanted to badly join him. His dad Hokoda, understood Sokka was too young to tag along with. Sokka pleaded with him to be together-Hokoda responded with this,” Being a man is knowing where you’re needed the most. And for you right now that’s here protecting your sister.” Sokka didn’t understand at the time as neither did I, but that’s changed.
There’s times in life when you want to be somewhere else. You want to be at that place that brings you security, happiness, and love. We lose our way, trying to figure out what the right thing is. Society has become obsessed with pursuing happiness to the point we assume the right thing to do equates to joy. It’s not always the case. There’s gonna be times you will be called on for something bigger, requiring you to be out of your comfort zone. It’s not gonna be somewhere you want to be. There will be days when you scratch your head if you made the right choice by being at a certain place. At the end of the day, where you are needed the most is where you’re supposed to be. It can be as simple as choosing to tag along for a car ride over going to see your favorite band playing at the local church. You chose the car ride because you’re loved one is going a through hardship-you realize there will be other opportunities to see that musical group somewhere else. They don’t need you; hell they don’t even know you exist! That loved one cherishes your relationship with you, so you have to take care of that. This is what separates men and women from boys and girls. Some of readers may be parents, so I know y’all understand exactly what I’m talking about as you’ve made sacrifices and put the needs of your children first over your own. There were times when you protected your offspring(s) from all the uncertainty-knowing deep down you weren’t sure what was to come in the future. Instead of running away, you gave all the love and selflessness needed. To put away the ways of a child requires selflessness, understanding where you are needed the most. Where do you think you’re needed the most?
Wow, I really enjoyed this! I appreciated the linked clips from the show -- it helped give me context since I've never seen it.
This also helped me to think about how I'm spending my time currently & my life direction in a new way, especially as I'm thinking about what to do once I graduate in a few months. I'd never quite thought about it in this way before, and I really appreciate you sharing this perspective. Thank you for taking the time to write this!
I really enjoyed when you showed us those two episodes! This reminds me that I want to watch more of it.