picture from here
picture from here
I’ve been a fan of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ since the first episode I was able to watch. As a matter of fact, we are all fans in the house. We all stop whatever it is that we are doing if we’re able to catch an episode in Nickelodeon. My dad even bought the DVD so we can watch one complete season straight. If you’re not familiar with the show, try to google it. There’s a movie coming up based on that cartoon and it’ll be directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Good stuff man.
If you’re able to watch the show, you’ll be opened to the concept of ‘bending’ elements. So you’ll find airbenders, firebenders, waterbenders, and earthbenders. These people can bend or manipulate air, fire, water, and earth respectively. It may sound plain when you read it but it’s awesome when you watch it and when you do watch it, in some sort of way, that little kid inside you will wish that you can do the same.
[ Man the thing I’ll do to be able to do those things. I always find myself thinking like a 5 year old, wishing that I can fly or create awesome stuff by just thinking about it. I’m reminded that before, I wished I had spiky hair and can do a kamehamea wave hehe ]
As humans, we may not be able to manipulate air, fire, water, and earth on our own the way the characters in the show do. But I realized that there one element in life that we can bend, the truth. It’s something that is not physical – we won’t feel a breeze when it passes through, we won’t get wet when we get in touch with it, we won’t feel heat when it’s there nor will the ground shake when we think about it – but it’s something, in my belief, more powerful than any damage these elements can give. Why? Because it strikes us where we are most vulnerable, it strikes our heart and mind.
Anyone can do ‘truthbending’. We can all play with the truth and it can be effortless once we get used to it. We can all pretend to be someone we’re not and be believable. We can all cheat on a loved one and get away with it. We can all manipulate the truth for our advantage and in the same process, hurt people in the most painful ways possible. We can truthbend our way to success, stepping on people along the way, we can truthbend our way to get what we want – success in money, career, and love. Oh sorry, I mean fake love.
I must admit that I am a truthbender. When I look back, I can pinpoint moments when I was the best truthbender I can ever be. I was good, I was so good, I was so believable. I had my share of benefits because of truthbending but you later realize that these gains are not genuine.
I would like to believe that we are all truthbenders in our own capacity. In some ways, we do a little truthbending here and there. Sometimes we get what we want because of it, but most of the times if not all, we hurt someone in the process. That person can be your mother who always brags about you because you were excelling in school only to find out that you cheated during finals. That person can be your boyfriend or girlfriend, feeling so secure about your love while you’re flirting with someone else behind his/her back. That person can be your friend who thought that he can run to you during the worst of times but you were never there. That person can be yourself who thought that you had a proud mom, a loving partner, and a faithful friend. You don’t anymore.
