Netflix released Avatar: The Last Airbender onto their streaming platform last month, and it couldn’t have come at a better time—providing the perfect quarantine escape and touching on social plagues that have spanned generations. Finishing the series last weekend with my fellow boolers left me with every emotion, including the desire to bend elements. While water, earth, fire, and air bending are obviously not achievable in our physical world, they have plenty of familiar roots that can be tapped into. Martials arts practices, including kung fu and tai chi, are the inspiration for the movements that harness each element. And relatable emotions and states-of-being such as anger, freedom, and patience can be a source of bending fuel. These three songs explore the ways in which bending can be found in our physical universe.

Set Fire to the Rain

Unlike the other elements, fire benders harness their power internally, and one of the more unstable fuel sources for this power is anger. Though Aang and Zuko may have found the Dragon Dance to be a more controlled source of fire-bending power, anger is not altogether unproductive (just ask Azula). This ballad explores how the pain and anger that linger at the end of a painful relationship can be a means of drying tears and moving forward for the better.

Ripple

The chorus of this song is often referred to as a Haiku (one that Sokka could have definitely wordsmithed). “Ripple in still wa/ter When there is no pebble tossed/Nor wind to blow”. Inspired by Taoism, not unlike Avatar, this song explores how thoughts translated into words can inspire and affect thoughts in others. The song also touches upon the idea that each individual has their own path in this world which can only be trotted alone—a philosophy that is explored throughout the Avatar series.

Like a G6

Katara claims to be a master water bender, but I never once saw her poppin’ bottles in the ice and creating a blizzard. By the exact opposite logic, I never saw Aang drinking sizzurp or Moet, but who’s to say that they aren’t a source of his air bending power. After all, he does throw bangers in caves. And if anything I’m saying is a stretch, I stand to reason that the act of simply listening to this song may actually allow you to bend an element.