What Two Cartoon Characters and a French Dude Taught Me About Life
I haven't been on this planet very long. Part of me feels like I've kinda coasted, or stumbled, through most of it. It wasn't until I got to a more 'stable' place in my life that I began to question the meaning of everything.
It's one of life's great mysteries isn't it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night.
Why are we here? Just to suffer?
If you got either of those references, mad props to you.
I feel like my quarter-life crisis was just full of existential quandaries. I started diving into various religious understandings and philosophies, racking my brain trying to find something that fit. Then along came some French guy yappin' about Greek Mythology.
Good ol' Albert Camus steps in and basically says "none of this shit has any meaning, so just try and live life in spite of it!" He understands the tension between a person's yearn for transcendental meaning and a universe that fails to provide it, what he calls "the Absurd" (oh would you look at that, where I got part of my name). His call for rebellion against our existential condition spoke to the punk in me. Life has no purpose, you weren't put on this Earth to accomplish anything. The rules are all made up. Live life to it's fullest, not as a distraction from the reality of a silent universe, but in rebellion to it.
I often make the joke that everything I know about the French is against my will, but I make exceptions for Camus. The Myth of Sisyphus changed how I viewed my relationship with the silent universe. Absurdism, to me, is one of the greatest antidotes to nihilism. It pulled me out of this existential slump, and helped me enjoy life a little bit more.
As much as I looked up to Camus, he had some glaring flaws that didn't sit right with me. For all that he got right, he had this blind spot towards women (like pretty much most western philosophy). While he was out being a Don Juan himself, he neglected his wife, Francine Faure, which caused her to fall into a deep depression and even attempt suicide. Though Camus claims he loves her and that she had forgiven him, it still irks me. The work of many great philosophers is bared on the back of even greater women forced to carry the man's load. It's easy to be this romantic philosopher and writer when you've got someone doing all the other labor for you.
Camus talks a lot of Absurd men, Caligula, Don Juan, Sisyphus, etc. My problem is you now have a psychotic Roman emperor, a misogynistic man-whore, and a Greek Myth about a douchebag that managed to piss off the Gods to such a high degree he got cursed with pushing a boulder for eternity. I wanted better representation of Absurdist ideals in the shape of someone that actually was a good person. Little to Camus' knowledge, a new Absurd hero would arise circa 2010 in the form of a yellow, shapeshifting dog.
Adventure Time is one of my all-time favorite shows, and for good reason. The characters are fun, the show seemingly grows up with it's audience, and like my other favorite show, is seemingly ageless to where kids and adults can both love it. My favorite character is of course Jake the Dog.
Jake is the Absurd hero representation that I needed. He's a loving father, he's a ride-or-die friend, and he's a faithful husband. He chooses to live life to the fullest in spite of the absurdity surrounding him. The man (dog?) shapeshifted into a brick just because he always wanted to be one in an old shack when it falls down, and gives a full account of his surroundings as time continues. In spite of what life throws at him, he chooses to play and to love.
Combined with Jake's unwitting philosophical wisdom, comes a character from my other favorite show of all time and a character that gave me inspiration to pursue an understanding in tea and East Asian philosophy. That is of course, Uncle Iroh.
I would consider Uncle Iroh to be a more mature form of Jake, that expands on the foundation Jake sets. Jake is about fun and friendship. Iroh is about wisdom and patience. Both have a lot of overlap, Iroh's love of tea is Jake's love of sandwiches. However, Iroh is a paragon of patience, loyalty, and doing what's right.
Iroh was once the general to the imperialist fire nation, whom after the death of his only child, begins a metamorphosis into the character A:TLA fans know and love. Where I consider Jake an Absurdist, most understand Iroh to be a Taoist. The two aren't incongruent, but address different aspects of life. Absurdism tells you the reality of life and to rebel, Taoism shows a manifestation of said rebellion.
Jake teaches us how to live life to the fullest and be a true friend. Iroh teaches how to build deep connections with the world and others. In spite of how Zuko treated Iroh throughout the show, Iroh remained loyal and always left the path open for Zuko to eventually follow. He teaches about balance, combating dogma, creating your own path instead of obeying one made for you, and finding hope in darkness. He exercises kindness and mercy, but knows when it's time to take action.
Jake and Iroh also show two different roles. Jake is best showcase on what a good friend looks like. Iroh shows what a good mentor looks like. You'll often hear people wish they had a true friend like Jake. And you'll hear no shortage of people who wished they had an Uncle Iroh in their life. Both Jake and Iroh inspire me to be that person.
Jake and Iroh come to similar conclusions about life through different means. Iroh came to be through grief and reflection. Jake's kinda always been Jake. They also express different aspects of various philosophies. Stoicism, for example, in Iroh is shown through his self-discipline, self-regulation, and resilience. Through Jake its not worrying about what he can't control.
While I'm young I definitely embrace more Jake than Iroh sometimes, especially with my ADHD I feel like I relate to Jake a lot. I know that as I grow older I'll probably shift. Iroh kinda is Jake at his most mature and probably most real. Iroh came about his philosophy and way of life through struggle and grief whereas Jake just kinda always possessed it, but it's a lot less tempered. Both aren't opposites, but different faces of one coin, and it's up to the individual to determine which side needs to be shown.
I really implore you to really look into both these characters and what makes them special. They might just change you the way they've changed me.
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