1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,640
Have you ever wanted to be something so badly that you constantly felt like you had to prove it to others?
2
00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:10,560
That unless they knew you were the smartest, strongest, bravest, or funniest person in the world,
3
00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:13,520
they may start to see the flaws that you were trying to hide?
4
00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,080
Well rest assured you're not alone.
5
00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:22,080
And today's character has a similar mindset in that he was always trying to prove himself as a leader and a warrior,
6
00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:30,080
sometimes to his detriment and that is Captain Boomerang himself, Sokka.
7
00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,080
What's going on guys? My name is Nate and you're listening to the Otaku Liberation.
8
00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:46,080
A show where we help you break the chains that hold you back in your life by connecting some biblical principles with themes from your favorite anime.
9
00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,080
And without further ado, let's get right on into it.
10
00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:56,080
In today's verse that kind of covers this whole episode is Romans chapter 12 verses 6 through 8.
11
00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:00,080
And it says, according to the grace given to us, we have different gifts.
12
00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,080
If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one's faith.
13
00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,080
If service, use it in service.
14
00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,080
If teaching, in teaching.
15
00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,080
If exhorting, in exhortation.
16
00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:16,080
Giving with generosity, leading with diligence, showing mercy with cheerfulness.
17
00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:22,080
And all that, all that is saying is that, hey, all of us have different gifts.
18
00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,080
It is up to us to use those gifts in the matter designed.
19
00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:30,080
And in other other words, stay in your lane.
20
00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:38,080
But no, seriously, it's about figuring out what you're good at and how to use it for people.
21
00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,080
That's the long and the short of it.
22
00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:47,080
And for someone like Saka, he was really trying to figure that out for the majority of the series.
23
00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:53,080
And like I said earlier, I was in a way that he felt like he had something to prove,
24
00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:58,080
which is my first point for today's episode is him proving himself.
25
00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:06,080
So Saka always dreamt of being a great warrior and sought multiple ways to prove himself as a leader.
26
00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:13,080
From training the young boys from his tribe after his father and the other adult men left to be warriors.
27
00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:18,080
And to eventually being the, like really the de facto leader of Team Avatar.
28
00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:24,080
Because honestly, without Saka, they probably wouldn't have gotten out of a lot of the situations they were in.
29
00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:33,080
Or would have even known where to go or have gotten back on track after they went off on some side quests.
30
00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,080
Because again, they're still kids, right?
31
00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,080
They get distracted.
32
00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:44,080
But it's just an old idea of having to prove yourself, to kind of prove your worth.
33
00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:55,080
And you know, I know for me as a young man, and I'm sure a lot of young men who are around my age and even older,
34
00:02:55,080 --> 00:03:00,080
it's something that you just come to realize that you have to prove yourself.
35
00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,080
You have to earn your worth, you know.
36
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:10,080
And that can be a very heavy work on your conscience that you may not even be aware of.
37
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:17,080
You just feel like you have to do something, that there's something that you need to do in the world to kind of leave your mark on the world.
38
00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,080
And just one, it's okay.
39
00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,080
You know, hey, it's okay.
40
00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:26,080
You know, when you're not alone in this, a lot of us feel that way.
41
00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,080
And it's actually something good.
42
00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:35,080
It's good that you want to do something, that you want to make yourself better or leave something behind.
43
00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,080
To leave, like I said, leave your mark on the world.
44
00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,080
That's a good thing.
45
00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,080
And hold on to that.
46
00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:47,080
But don't let it be kind of all-consuming like it was for Sokka.
47
00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:54,080
Because even though he had some of his strengths where, you know, his intelligence, his funny wit, and his problem-solving skills,
48
00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,080
it was just that throughout the entire series, he always felt like he was trying to prove himself.
49
00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:09,080
And when you try to prove yourself to others or to yourself or whatever the case may be, oftentimes it can leave you feeling insecure.
50
00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:17,080
In Sokka's case, he felt insecure about his place in the team because he was the only non-vendor for the longest time.
51
00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:22,080
You know, really, I'm going to tell you, his girlfriend, Tsuki, joined towards the end of the series.
52
00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:26,080
But for the vast majority of it, Sokka was the only non-vendor there.
53
00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,080
And he started being kind of okay with it.
54
00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:37,080
But then towards the end, he started really feeling like, okay, I'm not really contributing much to the team.
55
00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:42,080
Kind of overlooking all the other aspects of himself that the team needs.
56
00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,080
He just felt kind of useless.
57
00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:50,080
And animals ever felt useless? No, that's not a good feeling. It's not a good feeling at all.
58
00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:55,080
So I just want to ask you this. What is it that you feel insecure about?
59
00:04:55,080 --> 00:05:03,080
What is it that you feel like you have to prove? And who are you trying to prove it to?
60
00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:08,080
I know I can sit up here and say, you know, you shouldn't worry about what other people think.
61
00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:16,080
And to only be concerned with what God says about you and what you ultimately say about yourself.
62
00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:22,080
But I also know that's easier said than done. And as humans, we're tribal creatures.
63
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,080
We want to kind of fit in and be with community.
64
00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:32,080
And part of that means taking into account what other people think, what other people say, because we want to be a part of the tribe.
65
00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:38,080
So it's just these dueling mindsets that kind of go into this whole thing.
66
00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:47,080
And it's part of the reason why we strive so hard to push ourselves to prove that we are of value to other people.
67
00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:57,080
But so we have to balance trying to prove ourselves to other people with not really taking too much stock in what they think.
68
00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:02,080
And man, is that a thing to really understand and do? Yeah, I don't care what anyone says.
69
00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:06,080
People haven't mastered it. And it's a daily battle that you have to go through.
70
00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:16,080
But ultimately, you have to realize that it just comes down to what God says about you and as to why he puts you on this earth and what your purpose is in that sense.
71
00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:25,080
And, you know, your purpose is people. We can't always take what people say at face value or what they think at face value.
72
00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:32,080
Because, again, people are emotional and they change their opinions, you know, ten times in a minute.
73
00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:46,080
So, you know, do with that as you will. But the key thing is don't try so hard to prove yourself to the fact to the point that you're feeling insecure, you know, trust in God and trust in why he puts you here.
74
00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:53,080
So the next point is about soccer being flexible. So understand this.
75
00:06:53,080 --> 00:07:05,080
A part of every journey is learning when to adapt and to be flexible because life's going to throw you curveballs and you just understand everything is on God's timing.
76
00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:13,080
You know, we may have our plans. You know, I could say, you know, in five years, I'm going to be a millionaire because of whatever reason.
77
00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:23,080
But, you know, that could just say, no, that's not what I want you to do. I need you to go do this instead.
78
00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:28,080
And, you know, just a weird example, but it's the same thing.
79
00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:37,080
Kind of we, I say we, I'm using myself as an example. I make all these plans on a day to day basis of what I want to get done for the day.
80
00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:45,080
Oftentimes it's involving this podcast or the YouTube videos from either recording, editing, researching, all these different things.
81
00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:56,080
The truth is, you know, one, I'm not guaranteed tomorrow, right? I could just not wake up one day and be standing in front of the Lord, ready for my judgment at that point.
82
00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:01,080
And, you know, hey, if that's what he wants and that's what's going to happen.
83
00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:09,080
But in a more realistic sense, in terms of your everyday life, you know, things happen, you know, work may be a little more busy than normal.
84
00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:15,080
So I can't get to what I what I want to get to in that day or maybe something happening with a family that needs my attention.
85
00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:19,080
So I can't work on the things I've already set aside. You know, life happens.
86
00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:30,080
Life tends to get in the way of your goals. But the important part is to be flexible and not be so so rigid and not just in your routines, but also in your mindset.
87
00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:36,080
So Saka in the beginning, he was very close minded.
88
00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:42,080
Like, is this this man is like almost talking to a brick wall with him because he was skeptical of everything.
89
00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:47,080
He oozed sarcasm and he resist.
90
00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:56,080
If anyone remembers his first meeting with the Kyoshi Warriors, then you know, Saka, he he wasn't very experienced in the world yet.
91
00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:01,080
And he's like 50 years, 15 at this point. So or 60. I think he was 60. No, he's 50.
92
00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:06,080
So he was 15 at this point. So it was. Yeah. He's a 15 year old boy.
93
00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:19,080
No, we were all dumb at that age. But all of these things began to change as he traveled with Aang and the rest of the group as became more more worldly in his experiences and try to the different parts outside of it.
94
00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:26,080
So it kind of a side note, you know, try to be more be more open.
95
00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:35,080
And part of that is kind of get out there and explore places outside of just your home or where you grew up.
96
00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:44,080
Because that's something I have something of value. I've come to realize more now is that traveling and trying to understand different people's cultures.
97
00:09:44,080 --> 00:10:03,080
And when I say culture, that doesn't mean you have to leave the country. You can really go to a different part of your city and experience a wholly totally different culture there and experiencing that will help kind of soften the rigidness in your mind and in your perspective, the things like that.
98
00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:27,080
It help you be more flexible in your thinking because you're exposed to different things. And then that's exactly what happened to Saqqa. And he said during his journey around the world, he experienced different people, different cultures, different mindsets and ideas that ultimately made him a more effective leader because he's able to think in different ways than just what he was taught and what he's known.
99
00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:34,080
He's able to encompass a lot of these things into his strategy and strategic planning and things like that.
100
00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:43,080
And kind of going back to what I said about, you know, life on curveballs when it comes to figuring out a purpose, you know, sometimes not just life, it's God.
101
00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:57,080
God's throwing curveballs at us and these aren't meant to take us out or to discourage us, but to challenge us in a way that encourages us to let go of control and to trust him, to trust in his timing and to trust in his planning.
102
00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:07,080
And you can't do that without being flexible. You have to be willing to be molded and guided and directed in the way that God wants you to.
103
00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:24,080
And it's not easy. You know, I'll admit I'm a little bit of a control freak when it comes to especially my life and that's why I like having routines and getting things done in a certain way and things like that, because it just, I don't know, it just gives me a dopamine rush in my mind or something.
104
00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:28,080
I don't know. I really don't. But I've learned that.
105
00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:47,080
I was like, hey, you know, you can have your plans, but ultimately my will is going to be done. I'm like, okay, man, you know, don't beat me up about it. But seriously, when it comes to, you know, your routines, your plans, your the things that you have said that you want to get done, that you want to do.
106
00:11:47,080 --> 00:12:01,080
Just know that even if they don't have it in the time that you want them to, it doesn't mean that they won't get done. It just means you got to pivot. Then life's all about being and just rolling with the punches.
107
00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,080
So that's about soccer being flexible.
108
00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:26,080
And the last point I want to go over is growing past his weaknesses, which I think is something that one, 15 year old, right, for him to be able to recognize his weaknesses and not only recognize them, but actively try to prove upon them through at least not make them as prominent.
109
00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:43,080
It's something I greatly admire in soccer. I mean, I was thinking about this the other day. I think he probably is my favorite character out of the series because one, I'm always attracted to characters who typically don't have the same power and whatever power systems, you know, it may be.
110
00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:58,080
So he's soccer's case bender, but he's still able to kind of hang with some of the vendors, maybe not so much in straight up fighting, but it's just his mentality and strategy in the way he creatively solves some of his problems.
111
00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:13,080
And in after his initial kind of bout of insecurity, but not being a mentor once he learned, you know, once he learned how to get past that, then hey, soccer was soccer was all right with by me.
112
00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:33,080
And so one of his one of his initials and it's kind of funny to me because even though he was the idea guy, a lot of soccer's plans actually blew up in his face. The first go around latest man was, you know, he came with all these crazy schemes and ideas that he wanted to try.
113
00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:44,080
But oftentimes they just, they just didn't pan out. But the most notable notable of his plans was actually the invasion of the fire nation during the day of black sun.
114
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:54,080
And for those who haven't seen the show the data black sun is essentially a solar eclipse. It was solar eclipse where they knew the exact date and time it was going to happen.
115
00:13:54,080 --> 00:14:13,080
And firebenders can't fire been during a solar eclipse because the sun's blocked out. So they're essentially powerless. And even though it was an excellent plan and had it works would have effectively ended the war, because nobody couldn't have done anything to stop the invasion.
116
00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:26,080
But the invasion plan was leaps in the fire nation was actually ready for it, which ultimately led to the defeat and capture of most of the invading army, including soccer guitars, dad.
117
00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:44,080
So once again, they're separated. And since this was soccer's plan, he felt tremendous guilt over the fact he felt like everyone was counting on him because this was his plan he got he gathered all these people together. And he essentially led the charge.
118
00:14:44,080 --> 00:15:00,080
But ultimately it led to to their capture. And if I'm being honest, this wasn't a kid show a they probably wouldn't end ended up dying. It's just I'm just being realistic here in the as ruthless as the fire nation was throughout the throughout the show and the things they were doing.
119
00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:05,080
It wouldn't surprise me they just executed all all the war after that.
120
00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:19,080
But let's just be glad that he didn't write it was actually some some has to be to be filled after that. But even with this huge failure. No, this this didn't stop soccer.
121
00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:25,080
Like many times before he just takes his lumps and goes back to the drawing board in order to come up with a better plan.
122
00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:36,080
And that says a lot because soccer is one of those people who will fall seven times and then get up for the eighth time and say, All right, let me try this again and try from a different angle.
123
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:48,080
And that's not that's not easy to do. You know, that's not easy to do sometimes getting knocked down once is enough to make people say, Okay, you know, I quit, give up, I'm done. I don't want to do this anymore.
124
00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:57,080
And I was like that too when I was younger. He'll say probably around soccer they may be a little younger things wrong 12 something like that and something like that.
125
00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:07,080
If I didn't get something the first time or if I tried and it just kind of blew up in my face, I'm like, Nope, I'm done underneath this on the distress of my life.
126
00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:14,080
My young life of three years old, you know, I don't need this. And that's something I had to grow past something I had to get get over.
127
00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:25,080
So that started like sports and just different heck even just in school with like the classes and stuff like that these new comp introduced to me.
128
00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:36,080
And I eventually eventually clicked to say, Hey, you know, just because you started something doesn't mean it's gonna be good and out the way you wanted to or expected to.
129
00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:49,080
But it doesn't mean you can't get better at it in a different, you know, different approach. And that's just a lesson to learn is that, hey, things are gonna things are gonna happen fail.
130
00:16:49,080 --> 00:17:05,080
Sometimes you're gonna fail again and again. But eventually something's gonna click and you're gonna get past a little rut and a little, you know, whatever, whatever it is, or, you know, maybe you maybe you maybe you won't.
131
00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:14,080
Maybe just something that, hey, this just isn't for you. But now you know it's really not for you and not just, hey, you know, the first time didn't pan out. So I'm never gonna try again.
132
00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:22,080
Maybe try three, four, five, six different times. Okay, this just isn't for me. Let me pivot to something else, knowing that this isn't for me.
133
00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:31,080
And now, maybe, maybe you can take something from those past experiences and bring it into the future. I mean, you just you just never know.
134
00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:41,080
I'm a now I'm a huge person to say, hey, try it a couple times and see what what comes of it and how great if not what what can you learn from it.
135
00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:53,080
And so here is how to act to failure. How do you how do you feel when you fail at something? Do you quit right away like soccer to get up and try it again?
136
00:17:53,080 --> 00:18:09,080
So another weakness that soccer has is actually one I've touched on most episode. And again, this is inability to bend this and causing him to feel like a liability to his team in that he doesn't contribute enough.
137
00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:14,080
And they went in time there and again, kind of feels useless.
138
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:23,080
But rather than being depressed and keep moving about it, soccer decides to take matters in hands and actually find themselves to train them.
139
00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:30,080
And he trains them in the in the in the way the soul and soccer actually becomes a really good swordsman.
140
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:55,080
And then after that, so now he's not just a team's strategist and leader, he's also a capable warrior as well, who played a pivotal part in the end of the war by stopping the Fire Nation Air fleet and not by himself, of course, but he came up with the idea and he shots that ultimately just took out pretty much their almost entire army, honestly, when it came down to it.
141
00:18:55,080 --> 00:19:06,080
The point down with you guys remember in all of this is that as we grow into our purpose, there's been many obstacles that you're in no way are required to help us to clear.
142
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:15,080
But some are going to require us to face them ahead ourselves. I mean, again, all these are any idea of your purpose purpose is your purpose.
143
00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:31,080
So there's gonna be things that you have to do for yourself. And there's been said, you know, God's gonna send people your way to help you get through. But ultimately, it's your life. It's your journey. It's your perfect thing for you to solve and to fix and help with.
144
00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:44,080
So the last question I will leave you with is this. When you want to change something, do you feel sorry for yourself and say, it is what it is, or soccer, and find a solution to your problem.
145
00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:54,080
But hey, you like what you heard today, you want to take a deeper look into today's episode, head on over to the otakoliberation.net, where you'll find articles that covers today in a little more detail.
146
00:19:54,080 --> 00:20:06,080
And hey, if you want some other content outside of these normal episodic podcasts, head on over to my YouTube channel where I cover bonus content, which kind of different ideas and thoughts that I do.
147
00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:19,080
And come back next week, because we're talking about another one of my favorite characters from the show. And hey, she may be young and blind. But if you think that makes her weak, then you are in for a huge world.
148
00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:47,080
So join us to talk about the greatest earthbender ever, Toph Beifong. And always remember, you are the story and that story doesn't end until he says so. All right, be blessed.
