It’s safe to say that I am one of the biggest "Avatar: The Last Airbender" fans. For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s a three-season cartoon show that aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. For those of you who do know, I can recite the entire introduction by heart, with the exact inflections Katara uses. I am that committed. It’s also one of those shows that I watch at least once a year, because it brings me joy. I have watched it so many times that its major themes have started to affect my outlook on life. The following points are four lessons I have learned from watching this show:
Warning: Spoilers
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1. It’s okay to forgive yourself.
The theme of forgiveness is prevalent throughout the entire series however, the most powerful lesson learned is how characters make mistakes, and how they learn to forgive themselves. Prince Zuko is a great example of this. In season one, he is hunting the Avatar to restore his honor as Prince of the Fire Nation. It consumes him and it fills him with anger and hate. He realizes his faults in season three and then helps the Avatar defeat the Fire Nation by removing his father from power. Another example of self-forgiveness is how Aang had to forgive himself from running away from the Air Nomads, and from the world, when they needed him the most.
2. Healing is a process.
All healing—physical, emotional or spiritual—takes time. The entirety of season two shows how each character is healing. For Zuko, it’s healing from the burns his father left. Yes, this is a pun on how his father burned his face, but also the emotional damage he left when he banished his son. For Aang, he has to spiritually heal himself by unblocking his chakras to enter the Avatar state and save Ba Sing Se. Aang also gets defeated in Ba Sing Se when Azula strikes him in the back with lightning, nearly killing him while he’s in the Avatar state. The beginning of season three shows Aang healing both physically and emotionally from this defeat.
3. The most vulnerable people are also the strongest.
Toph is one of those characters that you would never expect to be as strong as she is. For one, she is a small child and two, she’s blind. In a world that views her as weak and disadvantaged—even her parents treat her like a porcelain doll—she is one of the most advanced earth benders of her time. She uses her disability to make her stronger. She doesn’t see with her eyes, but senses her surroundings by connecting her body to the earth, or “seeing with her feet.” She also defeats men three and four times her size in an WWE style fighting sport. She’s a great example of vulnerability equating strength.
4. The right thing to do isn’t always the easiest.
In season three, Katara had every opportunity to seek revenge on the man that killed her mother. However, after realizing how pathetic this man was, she decided that forgiving him was the right thing to do and walked away from her mother’s murderer a better person. Another example of doing the right thing is how Aang defeated the Fire Lord. His friends, his allies and even his past lives all told him that Ozai must be killed in order to save the world. However, he found a way that would take the Fire Lord’s ability to hurt others and also spare his life. Aang stayed true to his peaceful convictions and made the world a better place. Even though none of us are perfect, all we can do is try our best and stay true to who we are; and through that, make our lives and the lives around us, better.
I will start watching Avatar for the hundredth time this weekend, and I will most likely find a new life lesson hidden beneath it's surface of sarcastic humor and teen angst. Aside from that, I love this show more than the cabbage man loves his cabbages, which says a lot about who I am as a person.
