3 Things Frieren Can Teach You About Moving On.
“You look like you’re having fun”
“No I’m not. I only smiled because you did…”
And when she said that, she finally understood what he meant when he told her…
“You would’ve enjoyed the sunset”
Spoiler Alert: If you’re going to watch Frieren, I’ll try to not spoil it as much as I can but, consider yourself warned.
According to every fictional lore available, Elves can live forever or at least a really, really long time.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, is the story of an elf mage that successfully returns from an impossible quest and is now searching for to fill the void left from that quest. What do you do at the end of your life’s work?
The story continues with her on a journey to study magic until 50 years later when they reunite one last time before her human companions pass on from old age.
Now, unlike typical anime where the story revolves around the main character meeting their guides and getting power boosts to finally achieve their goal…
Frieren is a story on learning to accept the fleeting nature of things and moving on.
Here are 3 things Frieren can teach you about living better.
Life isn’t about Taking, it’s about Giving
One of my favourite parts of the story is Frieren accepting a magic grimroire she knows to be fake in exchange for helping clear out a shipwreck.
We are always chasing for WIIFM (what’s in it for me?), gifts and rewards for fulfilling our responsibilities but Frieren shows us that, being kind for the sake of being kind is a reward on it’s own.
She helped clear a shipwreck in return for a magical grimoire which she knew to be fake. Why? Because it was important to the poor villagers to watch the sunrise on New Years Day.
Did she enjoy sunrises? No. She hated waking up early and couldn’t see the point. And while she claims it was only for the villager, we later find out that she was supposed to see it with her human companions but missed it.
When she finally saw it… we see her realise that it wasn’t so much about the sunrise but more on the time spent with the people she loved.
The End is Inevitable.
Everyone ages. Frieren is over a 1000 years old and yet behaves like a child, refusing to wake up and dress herself every morning.
In comparison her companions grew older and looked for ways to help her live better after they had passed.
You’d think a 1000 year old elf would be wise, mature and responsible but…
You should mourn when something precious to you has been lost. Whether it’s a dream, a relationship or someone dear to you. But the end of everything is inevitable and what’s important is to accept what has happened and take another step forward.
Don’t Underestimate the Value of Time.
Living very long lives, decades can feel like a blink to an elf. But Frieren realises early on what feels like a heartbeat to her is a lifetime to her friends.
We started off with a cold and callous mage who didn’t care about time because she had so much of it. And we watch her slowly develop into a character who still doesn’t care about her own time but has learnt to value the time of others.
Personally, I love siestas, gaming and watching movies. But these things while fun, don’t move the needle for my life. It’s alright to have these in moderation and occasionally indulge but there are much better things to do to improve yours and your family’s lives.
I’ve indulged in all my vices only to sit and regret spending so much time on them. Ask yourself… what did I get for doing all or any of that?
While time you’ve enjoyed wasting isn’t time wasted at all, you can find meaning in life through a sense of responsibility and contributing to the ones the love.
Otherwise, it’d be hard to justify trying our hardest in life only to die and disappear into nothingness.
