I suppose that's a natural thing to ask for. I don't like to trouble you, Korra, but you're also the person here whom I'd trust the most with my own problems.
Really, most of my problems relate to getting used to being stuck in this place. With... with my daughter.
You’re not troubling me at all. I just wish I knew more about you—especially after being stuck here. I mean, I didn’t even know you had a problem with being in Aang’s shadow until now.
[She wonders if this is what people meant, when they called her selfish. Maybe she should have paid more attention to the people who mattered to her. Who knows what else she’s missed?]
That's because... Well, I suppose that I don't really talk about it much. Especially now that it's a thing of a past. It was actually... rather like the problem that you had in comparing yourself to your past lives.
For most of my life... I saw my father as an ideal. As someone whom I could never surpass. I always pushed myself to try to do so anyway... and whenever it failed, I took myself to blame.
The whole time I was in the compound, I just kept hearing about Aang, and how he'd stopped the Hundred Year War. I knew people would expect a lot from me because I'd accomplished so much in my past life, and I had to live up to all of that.
Yes. I don't think I truly understood how much these things were weighing on you until I solved my own problems and talked with you at the Tree of Time. You put so much stock into the advice of your past lives... and I'm guilty of advising you to try to find their guidance in the past. I should have been teaching you all along to find that strength within yourself instead.
[Korra shakes her head, before realizing he can't see it. She sighs.]
It's not you, Tenzin. If you hadn't said it, then someone else would have--that's what the Avatar has always done, getting advice from the past Avatars.
Besides, it wasn't getting help from them that was the problem. I just didn't think I...measured up. Especially to Aang and Wan.
That's I feeling I understand as well. Especially in relation to Avatar A... my father. I always pushed myself to be the spiritual leader that he had tried to help me become. And... you've seen how far I've gotten in that area. And as I focused on pushing myself to replicate my father, I overlooked my own daughter's natural talent until you all helped me to see that.
None of us knew Jinora could do all that until Kya said something. [There's unmistakable fondness in her voice.] I'm really glad she got her tattoos--she deserves them.
And... [There's a pause this time.] I know you've always been disappointed you couldn't go into the spirit world through meditation, but I don't think you're any less of a teacher to me for it.
A wise man once kept believing in me, even when I thought I was a spiritual failure. This time, it's my turn to believe in him, even if he thinks it's beyond hope.
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Really, most of my problems relate to getting used to being stuck in this place. With... with my daughter.
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[She wonders if this is what people meant, when they called her selfish. Maybe she should have paid more attention to the people who mattered to her. Who knows what else she’s missed?]
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For most of my life... I saw my father as an ideal. As someone whom I could never surpass. I always pushed myself to try to do so anyway... and whenever it failed, I took myself to blame.
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The whole time I was in the compound, I just kept hearing about Aang, and how he'd stopped the Hundred Year War. I knew people would expect a lot from me because I'd accomplished so much in my past life, and I had to live up to all of that.
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It's not you, Tenzin. If you hadn't said it, then someone else would have--that's what the Avatar has always done, getting advice from the past Avatars.
Besides, it wasn't getting help from them that was the problem. I just didn't think I...measured up. Especially to Aang and Wan.
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And... [There's a pause this time.] I know you've always been disappointed you couldn't go into the spirit world through meditation, but I don't think you're any less of a teacher to me for it.
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But... Thank you, Korra. It means a lot to hear you say that.
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[She pauses.]
If it's possible, then maybe one of us could try to be your spirit guide. Like Jinora was for me.
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[She pauses, then continues softly.]
A wise man once kept believing in me, even when I thought I was a spiritual failure. This time, it's my turn to believe in him, even if he thinks it's beyond hope.