Opening Reflection: Lightning and Emotions
Many people say anime is for children. At one point, I believed that too, and I love anime. It is one of my favorite hobbies. Because of that, I used to feel ashamed to talk about it publicly. But not anymore.
Because through reflection, and in my journey of personal development, I discovered that there are many life lessons in anime.
There are lines like: “When you attack, you need to put your will into it, a spiritual dimension.”
A line from Bleach that teaches us that everything in life begins in the mind. No matter how strong the body is, if the mind is weak, the body will be too.
How many times do we feel too weak to accomplish a task, yet for other things, even after spending an entire day working without rest, we somehow find the strength to keep going?
That strength comes from our will, from the mind.
We can also see this in people who know why they do what they do. Someone driven by a spiritual force, like making their parents proud, protecting their loved ones, etc., will not show the same strength as someone who is simply trying to survive from one day to the next.
In everything we do, it is important to bring a spiritual dimension to it, to prepare the mind first, and the body will find the energy it needs to accomplish the task.
There are so many other lessons that some anime teach us. About the value of family, friendship, romantic relationships, life, etc.
In this text, I talk a little about anime because what I want to share in these reflections is real, and I would like to use a lesson from an anime to explain it.
“How do we manage our emotions?”
How do we face them without letting them consume us?
It is a lesson from the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Fans will know what I am talking about, of course.
For those who are not familiar with it, I will get straight to the point. There is no need to explain the story or anything else that is not necessary. Let’s stay with what matters.
While learning a technique to redirect lightning through the body, Zuko heard these words of wisdom from his uncle, Iroh:
“If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi. From your stomach, you direct it up again and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must never let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly.”
Lightning is a powerful, terrifying element, and it can be destructive. Imagine letting it pass through your body and using it to strike an enemy. Of course, in the animated series, such a feat is possible.
If in real life we are still incapable of such a feat, the lesson here can still help us learn how to manage our emotions. Not control them, or simply suppress them. But manage them, learn how to let them flow safely, without fear of causing damage around us.
Many people claim to have control over their emotions, while others say they cannot control them.
But do we really need to control our emotions?
I think that rather than controlling them, we need to learn how to manage them responsibly and constructively.
I know it is easier said than done. And we often ask the question: How do we do it? How can I learn to manage my emotions well?
If I base myself on Iroh’s lesson to Zuko, I would say there are several steps: welcome, observe, channel, transform, release.
These steps, along with the beliefs we inherit through our different communities, are what this text explores.
And I want to repeat, as I do in each of my reflections: this is an invitation to reflect and grow together. There is no absolute truth in these lines.
In the end, we can each learn something. Maybe we will not learn the same thing, and that is okay.
But I hope that each of us learns a lesson that resonates with who we truly are.
This essay argues that no emotion is bad in itself. Everything depends on what we do with it—and that sometimes, welcoming an emotion is the only way to truly disarm it.
To be continued…
Mirror Question:
When a strong emotion rises within you, what is your first instinct—to welcome it, control it, hide it, or push it away?
Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. I always enjoy reading them and joining the conversation.
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With Clarity,
Odel A.
The Mirror Room
Uncle Iroh really had no business teaching me how not to let my feelings burn the whole house down while I thought I was just watching cartoons. And yes, Odel, I’m absolutely the girl who needs the reminder that having a big feeling doesn’t mean I have to let it drive.
It took me a while to get to the stage where I don't always react. I allow myself to feel without letting the feelings control my reactions.