Enjoy the Fundamentals

Oof, my legs are sore. But it is rather nice.

I just got back from a good walk around the city. It is still full of visitors who came for Zuko and Mai's wedding. Some of the guests are awaiting ships to take them back home, but I think others are staying because they see money to be made off of the remaining crowds, heh.

As I was wandering among the booths in the market square, I noticed a set of brightly colored scrolls. I stopped to look at them, and I was astonished by their titles! One said, "Firebending without the Boring Parts." What is boring about firebending? But there were others as well. There was "Sword Fighting without the Boring Parts," "Nature without the Boring Parts," "The Avatar State without the Boring Parts." There was even "Tea Brewing without the Boring Parts." What could possibly be boring about making tea?!

But I was interested. A scroll that illuminated only the most interesting parts of teamaking could, perhaps, help others to enjoy what I appreciate so much! Ah, but I was disappointed. The scroll left out all the best parts! It emphasized strange things, like supposed magical powers that can be imparted by a combination of mythical leaves. It spoke of nothing but theoretical guesswork on the origins of tea, most of which was simply untrue. But I would not mind such entertaining ideas, were they not promoted at the expense of the joys that the scroll called "boring."

I decided not to be too hasty, however. Perhaps it was only the tea scroll that was a little esoteric. After all, teamaking is not the most widely known topic, heh heh. So I picked up the firebending scroll. Here again, I was met with a sad sight. The fundamentals of firebending were hardly even mentioned! The basics, the foundations upon which all other firebending depends, were referred to as "things that everyone knows, but are hardly exciting."

And there was the problem, just where it is so often.

If anyone truly understands the basics of firebending, then he will see why they are worth being excited about! But while it is easy to learn the fundamental moves and principles, it is much harder to master them, and far harder still to *understand* them. A lifetime can be devoted to the basics alone, and they will continue to yield new treasures of insight and ability. It is only with such understanding that a firebender can have a sure foundation that will allow him to master any number of more advanced skills. Without the basics, a firebender is like a volcano: Very violent, and spectacular to behold! But in the end, volatile, wild, and self-destructive.

This firebending scroll explained some of the oddest theories about firebending that I have ever heard. It claimed to reveal the very origins of firebending itself, but its strange hypothesis (which it portrayed as fact) was quite a...uh...colorful fancy, if I may be so bold as to say so. It surely bore little resemblance to the history as the Spirits tell it... But when would-be scholars turn up their noses at the basics, what else could we hope to expect?

The key is appreciation. Appreciation for everything, especially the little things, and not just the large or the flashy. My brother was once one of the most externally powerful benders in all the world, but if only he had cared for the basics, who knows what new secrets of bending he might have unlocked? Perhaps it is a good thing that he did not, heh, but maybe if he had he would have developed a somewhat more balanced outlook on the world.

For you see, the basics are all interconnected. The basics of firebending are intertwined with the basics of every other element. To truly understand one element is to understand and appreciate them all. To truly understand plants, one must learn about the stars. To fully understand others, one must uncover mysteries about himself. But without the basics, sciences and studies become separate from one another. That is when they stray into strange paths and wander away from the real world.

I would like to write a scroll called "Firebending Made Not-Boring-At-All!" For the truth is that a master who really understands anything will understand the wonder of it! Such a master can teach others to find that same delight for themselves, even in the basics. It is actually in the deepest fundamentals that the majestic elegance of our world shines most brightly! Not only is a foundation necessary for the stable use of more advanced skills; it is necessary in and of itself, for its own sake. That is where true power and knowledge are locked, and true peace as well.

I have known young firebenders who sought discipline, but had difficulty when they were faced with the tedium of the basics. If only they had had someone to teach them why the basics were so interesting! And I have known others who were wise enough to desire to learn the basics, who wanted to slow down and learn *why* fire behaves as it does, *why* movements of the body produce flame, and *why* some people can bend while others cannot...but I have watched sadly as even such wise students were hurried along by impatient masters. I remember one in particular, who told his eager young pupil, "You don't need to know why! Just memorize the movements!"

Memorization, rote learning, makes everything boring. In that condition, what choice does the mind have but to flee to strange and fanciful ideas? For our minds seek to delight in their universe. We all know deep down that the world is a remarkable wonderland, and we yearn to experience that wonder. But impatient learning, motivated by the desire for quick external output, blinds us to it. It blinds us to the all-important *why.* Our world is marvelous, but it is not the wild, sprawling splatter that some theories assert it to be.

We do not need to turn to fairy-tale ideas for excitement; our world is even more magnificent, if only we will develop eyes to see! If we think the real world is a place of dreary work and mere survival, then we are living in an unnecessary bad dream. Don't get me wrong, I always love a good fairy tale! But I most appreciate tales that serve as reflections of the world as it is. Those stories resonate inside all of us, not because of mere spectacle or excitement, but because of their meaning.

Anyway, I bought the tea scroll. It will make for funny reading, and I think the bright orange color will go nicely with the decor at my teashop!