Remembering What We Have

Okay, I get it, this blog is still new and this is my second One Piece post, but I just cannot help myself. I recently watched episode 512, where Luffy gains consciousness after his older brother Ace's death, and of course it broke my heart. Yes, I sometimes revisit those hard-hitting episodes, especially when I need a morale boost. Jimbei's words are so true, it is so easy to get swallowed down the abyss of regret and despair. However, you must always gather up the courage to look-on ahead bearing in mind what you still have.

Corny as it may be, One Piece, (and anime in general), has a lot of gems when it comes to wise teachings. In all great works of fiction there are several lessons there for the audience to decipher. In the case of episode 512, the lesson is obvious: even in the face of the largest hardships, i.e. Luffy witnessing the murder of his brother, the reach of darkness stops at the limitations that you set. I was raised with the mindset that one always has a hand in their share of misfortune, and I believe many of us are raised that way, but that kind of mentality doesn't give you the tools to adequately overcome your misfortune. You see, what Luffy was battling in that moment was his weakness, he kept crying out that he was not strong enough to protect his brother in that moment. If we were to employ the aforementioned logic, then the remedy for this misfortune would be to get stronger. Albeit this is some form of progressive conclusion, thinking this way hides the truth of it all. Misfortune, much like fortune as well, is almost entirely a matter of luck, or rather a matter of several consequential circumstances that are out of your control. So forth, looking at the your very small contribution to this domino chain of events only lets you see a small aspect of the grand-whole of things. Instead, like Jimbei says to Luffy, if you appreciate what you have lost, you can also look at what you still have. Luffy realized in that moment that he still had his crew-mates, his friends, his nakamas. Looking forward to what you still have can give you the strength to muster up whatever you lacked in your moment of weakness, while still not neglecting the ways to overcome this hardship.

In realizing that Luffy still had his friends alive waiting for him in the world, he was able to accept that he was weak and that he needed to get stronger so that this situation never happens again. Seeing things this way helps him understand the tragedy he lived through is itself part of a larger grand-scheme of gain and loss, and that the only way to move forward in life is to reel in the pain that you feel from this loss, while wholeheartedly appreciating the value of everything you still have.

We all need a friend like Jimbei who's there for you when you're down and to give you the harsh truth. Episode 512 is a moving tale about loss, old friendships and of course a new friendship that Jimbei and Luffy will share for the remainder of the series.

Anyway, I'm a weeb I get it.