DayBending

The Last Airbender

​I was fortunate enough to experience my formative years during Avatar: The Last Airbender’s (ATLA) debut. We watched the first episode as a family when it aired, and all of us have been diehard ATLA fans ever since. Even my mom enjoyed watching it and was just as excited for new episodes as the rest of us. For a family of geeky nerds, ATLA was a satisfying fantasy (albeit, not your typical fantasy) as opposed to the cartoons set in our modern times that, while we enjoyed, never scratched that creative itch for us. It was also a more mature cartoon, with meatier content for us to chew and an animation style that likened to anime without off-putting those of us who weren’t interested in that genre. 
Like any ATLA fan, I’ve often considered what kind of bender I would be (while I can appreciate non-bender characters and their ability to still “kick butt”, I’ve always felt that I would be a bender). When I was a kid, I always thought I’d be Water. I think that was mostly because blue was my favorite color, and waterbending/the Water Tribes were always depicted in blue. Waterbending was always the first thing my mind jumped to when I thought of myself as a bender. Now, as an adult, I’ve started to question that. 

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Water vs. Fire vs. Earth

I never considered myself a Firebender because they were “the bad guys”, though as fans of the series know, being from the Fire Nation or being a Firebender doesn’t inherently make you a “bad guy”. The more I thought about Firebenders, and who they were without the “bad guy” connotation, I started to see more of myself there. 

Self-control is vitally important for Firebenders, as depicted by multiple episodes dealing with that subject. I’ve always been a person of self-discipline (in the good way), mentally, physically, spiritually, I strive at all times to practice self-control. I don’t succeed all the time, and that’s okay. It’s about the effort and not giving up, even if you know you’ll never get it perfect. A lot of those sentiments can be found in Firebenders: they are passionate people who must practice positive self-control and to never give up. They are persistent and relentless, two character traits that are positive when tempered. I also share more in common with Azula than I am comfortable admitting–minus the homicidal crazy parts. 
Once I came to terms with the fact that I could, possibly, be more of a Firebender than I realized, I started to think about myself as an Earthbender. This was, perhaps, the one I felt the furthest from, but upon closer examination, I found traits of myself within the Earth Nation as well. Earthbenders are firm, immutable, dedicated, loyal, unwavering. They have a strong set of core values that are difficult, if not impossible, to shatter (which is why Katara was so devasted to see the Earthbenders on the Fire Navy ship in an uncharacteristic state of helplessness). While I don’t think I’m all those traits, I do have a firm set of unshakable core values and an unwavering spirit. So, while I would never consider myself an Earthbender, I can appreciate that. 

Honestly, water and air are now the two bending styles I find myself the furthest from. I am adaptable, but I will only shift so far; I am patient, but not still. While I can find aspects of the Water Tribes and Air Nomads that I relate to, I was surprised at how much more I found in earthbending, and even more so with fire. In the end, all of us are a mix of various bending ratios (or, you know… not even benders at all, lol). For me, it’s fire, earth, water, and air, in that order. 
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Considering this ratio of bending styles, I was intrigued by an observation I found on the internet. When Katara is fighting Hama, the Bloodbender, she uses an earthbending technique to stop Hama’s water attack instead of redirecting it. This caused real fear in Hama, because Katara was showing a new level of mastery by using an earthbending technique to manipulate water. Similarly, Uncle Iroh is constantly learning styles from other bending nations and incorporating them into his own, such as the lightning-redirect. Even though these people can only bend a specific element, they can still use the styles of the other nations to enhance their own bending, making themselves stronger and more versatile. And they don’t need to be the Avatar to do it. ​

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Put it All Together: DayBender

After pondering this aspect of ATLA, I became inspired on how to use this observation in my day-to-day life. I’ve heard people liken their day-to-day management to juggling: “I have to juggle all these tasks, trying to keep all the balls up in the air”. Or they liken day-to-day management as multi-tasking or prioritizing, which is all very true and good. But it’s way more fun to consider yourself a Daybender. Sometimes, you need to be persistent, like going to the gym without excuses. Sometimes, you need to be firm, as when you set boundaries for your children. Sometimes, you need to be adaptable, when those same kids are having a bad day (or maybe even a good one!), and plans need to change to accommodate that. Sometimes, you need to be patient, especially when your day isn’t lining up the way you planned. 

Daybending is about harnessing the best bending style for any particular moment. It’s about being fired up for the tasks or activities that need passion, about standing firm on the things that can’t be put off; it’s about being able to shift and change with the flow of the day, and through it all, being content with how events are moving. If you need to be a Firebender for a little while, harness that part of you and be a Firebender. If waterbending is the best approach, embrace the parts of you that are water. 
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Since we all have a bit of every bender in us, why not be like Uncle Iroh, or Aang, or Katara and embrace those different strengths when the situation calls for them? Why not become, Daybenders? ​

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