#10b The Wounded Son

I could write about Trunks from a lot of different perspectives. And with my love of writing, I probably will. But today, I want to talk about Trunks’ journey through his father wound. Trunks’ dad dies when he is still just a baby. He grew up never actually knowing him. As he grows up, Trunks is faced with armageddon itself. His entire world falls apart, both on the outside and the inside. 

You see, two powerful androids single handedly cause the biggest disaster of his time, laying waste to entire cities and claiming millions of lives. One of those lives is that of his best friend and mentor, Gohan. As he bears the crushing weight of his mentor and best friend dying right before his eyes, Trunks is forever changed for the worse. 

Were you ever stuck on a problem as a kid? Did you ever have one of those moments, maybe in a video game, where you go call for big brother to come and solve it for you? Maybe you didn’t have a big brother. Maybe you called directly for mom or dad to come take care of it for you. Even if you didn’t have that moment yourself, I think you know what I’m talking about. And that's a very natural response to have. 

At least, for a kid. 

But as we grow into adults, we must transform, going from the ones needing help, to the ones doing the helping. Trunks is far overdue for this transformation, and he needs a wake-up call to get started. 

In an early scene in their arc in Dragon Ball Super, Trunks arrives from his timeline to request backup. He engages in a friendly sparring match with his dad (at least, a version of his dad,) and this child-wound takes hold. Except, it doesn’t come up like a wound normally would. His position as the underling is so reinforced in his head that it has warped his entire mindset. His way of seeing the world, along with his values, are forever changed by his wound. But now, papa Vegeta and uncle Goku are here to rescue him. He smiles. Even though he just lost a fight, he has found someone big enough to save him. Despite all his power, he has the heart of a civilian, and he has just found his superman. 

But Vegeta catches on to his son’s train of thought and tears into him for it, claiming he needs to prepare for the future, essentially commanding the boy to become a man with a swift punch to the gut. And while the speech sounds harsh, it hits home for Trunks. In that moment, he vows to rise to the challenge of growing into a mighty warrior. To become his own man, and ultimately, to let no one stand in his way. As Vegeta brutally demands of him:

I won’t tolerate failure! You’ll be the best, or you’ll be nothing!

I know that such a mindset sounds harsh. And, especially as Christians, we talk about having unconditional love from God. But can we somehow weave this mindset into our own lives to drive us forward in life?

The concern is that this mindset will cause us to topple. I mean, “the best or nothing” kind of makes you feel worthless, right? And we have seen in high-achieving families that this idea takes a massive toll on someone, especially a kid. The problem that I struggle with is that the alternative is a sense of apathy. We grow complacent because all we have to do is tell ourselves that we are enough. It’s too hard to improve, so we can just let the world change instead. 

But there’s got to be some way we can meet in the middle, right? Where we can see and maintain a concrete sense of value, while also reaching to be the absolute best? This is no easy task, I will admit. These two ideas seem to be at odds, to say the least. But it reminds me of a train of thought that I have been having at work lately. 

Where I have been at, we keep a pretty close watch on our numbers to represent how we are doing overall. Nobody has gotten on my case so far, but I have started keeping track for my own sake. And one of the thoughts that I keep coming back to is that all I want is to make things happen, no matter what obstacles or excuses cross my path. Rough start? Double down and hit those numbers. Brain fog? Slam another cup of coffee and hit those numbers. All I want is to truly rise above and hit.those.numbers!

And this is not because I’m some sort of over-achiever, or even that I’m afraid of what might happen if I don’t perform well. It’s simply wanting to be able to make the results happen. I’m hungry to produce outcomes, not to just try hard. As Papa Roach once said in their song Lifeline, “a heart of gold won’t take you all the way.” Don’t get me wrong: it’s good to have good intentions. But if you can’t complement that with genuine results, then what do you truly have?

Maybe that’s our in-between: you may not suddenly be worthless, but your intentions and efforts don’t count for squat if they don’t change the outcome. Wanting to hit those numbers doesn’t matter if you don’t make it happen. Either your efforts are the best ones that actually get stuff done, or they’re worth nothing.

And we should also stop tolerating failure. So often we try to cope with things not being as they ought to be. But instead of letting things bother us, driving us forward to change things, we simply try to cope. We either try to forget, or we comfort ourselves so that we feel less bad about it. I’m not saying we should let guilt and regret eat us alive, but what if we were always trying to overcome and prevent those bad situations? What if we were always trying to make good things happen instead of letting bad things slide? 

I think, ultimately, the thing I am trying to get at is to let your actions mirror your beliefs with 100% accuracy. That we bridge that gap between what we say and what we do. It will take time, accountability, and some bending on both ends. But ultimately, what better way to live than with the pride of knowing that you put some effort into the life you lead? 

All this sounds a little cold, but it puts things into perspective, doesn’t it? Why don’t we take some time to chew on this for a while and see where it leads us? Maybe we need to write a better game plan for the things we want to do, so that we can actually make them happen. Maybe you need to rethink some of the things that you believed because they don’t work well in practice. Well, today’s your day! Get up, bring your A-game, and be the best! Because if you don’t bring your very best, someone else might. And they may wind up taking something of value from you. So be your best, and get out there and kick some butt!

Until next time

May Peace be your Guide.