“Viking Philosophy – Part 4 – Be a Good Merchant” – The Pagan Pulpit

March 22, 2020April 6, 2020 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

Announcements:

We don’t pray here – we figure God, the gods, goddesses, or whatever powers that be (if any) either know already, don’t give a fuck, or are busy with more important matters than our petty stuff. We also kind of assume that they expect us to do stuff that we can do for ourselves and that we will do them ourselves and not be lazy. We also believe in being good friends, so we don’t presume on our friendship with the powers that be by asking them all the time for stuff while giving them nothing in return.

We also don’t take an offering here. We figure the powers that be probably don’t need it. Let’s be honest, offerings are not given to the divine powers, they are given to an organization to support it. Just being honest. God, the gods or whatever never sees a dime, farthing or peso of that money; it all goes to the church, mosque or shrine.

Theme Song: Trobar de Morte – ‘Summoning The Gods’

Meditation:

Text:

Sermon: ‘Viking Philosophy – Part 3 – Be a Good Merchant’

One of the unknown historical things about the Vikings is that they were good traders. Most see the Vikings as raiders but their main long term objective was trade routes. Now the Vikings if they seemed to have shortcoming militarily it was siege\ing cities so the better strategy was to threaten economic warfare but then offer trade as an alternative to war. Sometimes it was simple once the Vikings colonized they traded with the new colony. In any case, being a good merchant was part fo the game of being a Viking.

Finding Out What the Market Needs – selling means filling a need. You can try to sell ice and snow to Eskimos all you want but they don’t need them.
Do Not Promise What You Cannot Keep – No one will do business with a person who can not deliver on their promises. The great correcting force of the market is if you sell shit people will stop buying it and if you don’t deliver – same.
Do Not Demand Overpayment – Make sure your prices are affordable and you will get long term business.
Arrange Things So You Can Return – The long term is the focus in the end. Being able to do business and keep doing it repeatedly. This is why being honorable and truthful leads to self-reliance.

Parting Thought:

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Legalizing Prostitution” – Freya’s Chambers – Sex

November 8, 2019November 8, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Frigg and Freya’s Day!

Discussion:

Disclaimer: The topics covered in Freya’s Chambers include serious discussions of sex, sexuality and related issues. If it isn’t your thing; you can move along, otherwise enjoy and feel free to discuss. Given the nature of some subjects be prepared for nude images as there may be some. I avoid genitalia as a general rule but is not always possible.

While the subject is prostitution, I want to discuss economics for a minute because what prostitution is in most of my country is illegal (except Rhode Island and Nevada). The reasons given for this are basically moral and trying to keep morality but like most things with good intentions cause a great deal of harm. Economically speaking this harm is felt in the fact that black markets have an unknown and unstable economic effect. Mostly it causes us to misinterpret data and the effects can create shortages and other negative economic impacts.

More gravely for prostitution in particular, much like the drug war, the negative effects of making prostitution criminals are far more detrimental that the supposed crime, if you can call it that. As a libertarian, my definition of a crime includes actual harm was done and a victim to be considered a crime at all. Prostitution has neither as it is a) voluntary and b) technically causes no harm. Most of the negative effects of prostitution are caused because it is illegal not because it exists. Voluntary consensual transactions should never be criminalized.

The standard five reasons for legalizing prostitution are 1) reducing the influence of organized crime, 2) Health Concerns, 3) Protection for the vulnerable and underage, 4) Taxation revenue and 5) Morally there is truly nothing wrong with consensual sex.

Reducing the Influence of Organized Crime

If prostitution is legal then if a woman is attacked by a client she calls the cops and the man is arrested. She has rights and she can utilize the authorities to protect her and if she protects herself in self-defense then she would not be held responsible. Without this currently pimps pretty much can do to the women what they wish and often it is a form of sexual slavery. A woman who engages in sex work on her own runs a great risk of attracting the wrong attention and rival pimps are often violent with each other for territory. There is a sense of ownership organized crime has of prostitution as shown by the fact that pimps put their tattoos on their girls. This would effectively end if decriminalized.

Health Concerns:

Health reasons have been listed for legalization probably the longest. You can require licensing, so you would have better numbers of actual sex workers. This licensing could carry the requirements of regular monthly health screening to maintain and this would help prevent the spread of STDs along with perhaps mandating condom use and birth control to prevent pregnancy. The point is these workers would be allowed to practice freely and yet be required to get health screenings.

Protection for the Vulnerable and Underage

Thirdly the subject of protecting the vulnerable and underaged is key. The reason sex slavery exists, for the most part, is that prostitution is illegal. There is no control directly on this black market at all and so anything goes. If prostitution is legalized, then they legal brothels, etc. would most definitely blow the whistle on anything illegal in order to remove competition and because of basic human decency. But also children of the prostitute cannot be used as pawns as the prostitute could call on help for them if needed and they were threatened.

More importantly, the sex workers as rule would have legal protection against rape and violence otherwise the recourse is to just take it and then recover as best as possible with the perpetrator getting away with it.

Tax Revenue

Tax revenue is always an issue for those of a more non-libertarian persuasion that is why I promote decriminalization for the most part as I would rather have it be that taxation was not part of it. But if you regulate it and charged a fee for the license to administrate making sure sex workers are screened then some revenue would be required. But there is much like legalizing drugs and taxing them an opportunity for state revenue and that cannot be denied. Nevada reports that brothels generate on average 50 million dollars a year in tax revenue. Multiply that by fifty states and that is a lot of revenue.

Morally the question comes. You can have sex – no crime and you can make money – no crime. But somehow doing both together is a crime? It also has some hypocrisy to it. For instance, in the pornography industry, a person is technically making money having sex. The only difference is that it is on camera. The point is there is no victim and no harm is done in the sense someone is forced, threatened or defrauded and if those things are absent I simply don’t see the point of making sex work illegal as it seems to only benefit a small group of people – notably organized crime and law enforcement. Legalizing it would change that.

Conclusion:

It is my opinion that the making of sex work illegal has a lot of unintended consequences that are more dangerous and more damaging both socially and economically than if it was simply legal and regulated for those same concerns. There are many arguments for this and I have listed some of the main ones. I have never been to a prostitute myself, but I understand why some people would engage in it if they have no other recourse or as clients – options. I simply know that black markets are caused by government laws and often the results are more dangerous and damaging than if the activity was simply licensed and regulated.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Anarchism: Moral but Naively Idealistic” – Of Wolves and Ravens – Political Science

October 7, 2019October 8, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Mani’s Day

Discussion:

I want to go on record a saying the philosop[hy behind anarchism is morally pure because it is the only philosophy of government that gets rid of the two things that make government suck the most – control mechanisms and the removal of individual rights. Without a doubt, I do not argue with anarchists that their philosophy is good, just and perfectly thought out. It is political idealism as its finest.

That said it is so idealistic that it will never happen. Much life socialism has an idealistic view of economics but fails to account for the economic realities of the law of scarcity and that human beings are motivated by self-interest so taking that way you get a system that limits human achievement, option, and freedom. You basically also will find yourself taking rights from people, not granting them under a socialist system.

Anarchism does something similar – it doesn’t take into account another part of human nature that has evolved in us. We are inherently tribal. Tribalism has allowed human beings to band together against common problems or foes as long as the human race has been around. it is part of our psychological makeup and it is why everyone will never accept anarchy as a form of government. There will always be the state no matter how it is set up. As soon as people organize and set up a system of dealing with problems or issues, what they set up is ‘government’.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

“Feed the Wolves, but Listen to the Ravens first.”

Needs (Geri):

That said, I think the anarchists should keep advocating anarchy for one simple reason – it keeps us with the realization that the government doesn’t have to be involved in everything. There is no need for the government but if we are going to have it it should do something we can all mostly agree it should do. We need if anything, when the government is inevitably set up it, should be constructed in such a way it serves humanity, not the other way around. This is why most governments fail because they make slaves out of the populations under them and the tension for freedom is created that leads to their eventual downfall.

Wants (Freki):

So what we want is a government that serves us by: 1) recognizing that the citizens are the boss, government is the servant, not the master, 2) Having a great concern to defend the rights of individuals, in fact, it should be made as one of the central duties of government, and 3) the citizens should have the means to overthrow said government if it attempts to violate the two above.

Reason (Huginn):

While I can marvel at the ethical purity of anarchism given the above needs and wants, I have become practically a classical liberal libertarian. Not because I think having government isn’t immoral like the anarchist, but because I think it is inevitable that government will exist because of tribalism. So if the government is rationally inevitable, it stands to reason that we keep it as small as people will allow and with the least amount of power necessary. So far as I know the level of government of classical liberalism is the smallest that has been in history accepted by people. So it is practically viable and yet also respects individual rights and if done properly protects rights.

Wisdom (Muninn):

Wisdom finds itself in upholding the moral goodness of a particular philosophy but realizing the practical realities of experience and what human beings will actually do or accept. For me, classical liberal philosophy is the best compromise between the.purity of anarchism and the reality of human tribalism. Anarchism, however, does bring to the wisdom table the constant reminder of trying to find a way to let people live in freedom and without coercion, Well, at least as much as human tribalism will allow.

Conclusion:

I like anarchists, even when they argue with me about this, but I have also frustrated them by saying I agree that they are morally the purest philosophy I have found in studying political science. Then the discussion turns practical and they have to concede another point – when have human beings accepted anarchism as anything other than a short transitional time between governments? They never have.

Next week I hit libertarianism and I will be dealing with classical liberalism or more appropriately why I am one.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Economics and Common Sense” – Of Wolves and Ravens – Economics

September 23, 2019September 23, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day

Discussion

Having a minor in economics apparently puts me above the common man who has an opinion about economic matters. It does, however, add to my frustration level as Rothbard’s quote resonates with my soul quite a bit. I find a few things frustrating about people’s ignorance of economics. Mostly how this ignorance is used against them.

Economics is part of my overall philosophy because some of my virtues are connected to business: Self-Reliance, Industriousness, and Hospitality all of more direct economic issues so knowing something about how economics actually works helps me have more for my ravens to say about those decisions involving those virtues.

Because of the law of scarcity, for instance, I know that there are some things in life not available to everyone, so if you want them you have to earn them. It gets rid of a sense of entitlement which, to be honest, is one of the most detrimental things a person can have as part of their personality makeup. Economics is often called codified common sense and so it is a valuable tool in my philosophical toolbox.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

“Feed the Wolves, but Listen to the Ravens first.”

Needs (Geri):

I suppose my need for economic knowledge in relation to philosophy surfaced with some of my decisions when I first went back to school and decided on my major. I knew I wanted something that was in demand and marketable but also flexible. The one thing I had noted over the years, as technology and knowledge change, so does how business is done and those who can adapt thrive. The need for flexibility and marketability long term was an issue of the Law of Demand.

Wants (Freki):

On the flip side, the kind of job I wanted is an issue of the Law of Supply. What’s available. was an issue. The thing was that Political Science opens that up by one simple thing – I could always be in administration and that is everywhere. Not to mention that just having a Bachelor’s degree from a university that is real-world instead the plastic bubble of religion opens up even more.

Reason (Huginn):

So my current struggles beg the question of which law deals with the fact that I am struggling to find a job and the economics of hidden costs and unintended consequences of economic policies might be a factor. the simply truth is that if someone hires me that has a good benefits package my being older is going to cost them more money even if that benefit is simple health insurance, the premium for me will automatically be higher.

Wisdom (Muninn):

This leads to the wisdom that I need to be ready to give up some raw salary to compensate for that. It is something I will give up because I would still come out ahead of where I am now. Economics helps me realize that flexibility is called for.

Conclusion:

Personally, economics being part of my overall philosophy has been something that has had a calming effect. I don’t get bent out of shape when an employer does certain things but I rather ask what the economic issue might be. Sometimes I have to ask why they don’t consider economics but people are people so they don’t always have economic knowledge and that includes people in charge.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Asatru and Self-Reliance” – Of Wolves and Ravens – Self-Reliance

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Discussion:

“Self-Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved not only for the individual but also for the family, clan, tribe, and nation.”

Principle: To achieve and maintain personal independence and advocate for independence in my family, state and nation.

This virtue is much more complicated than it first appears. We also need to remember that as we move from the Foundational Virtues to the Business Virtues that this is my distinction but in other views, this virtue is handled in a different place. What all of us acknowledge is that the Nine Noble Virtues weave together to form different concepts and at Self-Reliance, we see a lot of that.

Mostly though there is one word that guides my thinking on this virtue – ‘independence”. It is that line ‘the spirit of independence’. I would say that one cannot be dependent on others and self-reliant and as such one is not truly free if one is dependent on others. Your dependence means that the people you are dependent on can take it away and thus can dictate terms in some way in other areas with the threat of taking what they give you away.

This idea of self-reliance meshes well with the libertarian concept of the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP) as to be self-reliant it can be seen that attempts to force or defraud others are not self-reliant but rather the actions of the thief and extortionist. No thief or extortionist is self-reliant.

In Asatru, the person who is valued is the one who goes and, using industriousness, makes their own life. The person who finds ways to leach on the lifeblood of the industriousness of others is not. Hospitality is the guard against those who find themselves in trouble due to no fault of their own as in Hospitality (which we will discuss in a couple weeks) you find each person having the requirement in that virtue of helping those in need if it is in their power to do so.

Website: Ravenbok – The particular page is: The Values of Asatru

To the Wolves and Ravens:

“Feed the Wolves, but Listen to the Ravens first.”

Needs (Geri):

The need for self-reliance is obvious for personal development. No one grows stronger or better by being in a dependent state in relationship to others. It is liberty and independence that have as their responsible core the need to grow and be better to live a better life. We need self-reliance to maintain our freedom by working for it. As much as I believe it is true that liberty requires a sacrifice of blood from those who would try to take from time to time. The constant maintenance of liberty is done by people working hard every day to maintain their self-reliance.

Wants (Freki):

We want self-reliance as well. I suppose in Asatru this is best reflected in how the Norse people looked at the gods. They certainly didn’t look to them for help all the time. The gods were mostly invoked; if at all, through a good relationship where a person maintained a friendship with the gods but never presumed too much on it. They only turned to the gods for help when needed like a friend would with a friend. This creates respect that is both wanted and needed when carried over to human relationships as well.

Reason (Huginn):

Rationally this guards us against two things. One the one hand we seek to be prosperous enough so that no one can control us. Having prosperity allows one to look an employer in the eye and remind them you can live without them or have enough to live through hard times. On the other hand, the followers of Asatru recognize the dangers of materialism as not all one acquires leads to the utility of being valuable practically. Simple prosperity is more desirable that opulent displays of wealth because opulence is a drain on one’s prosperity and actually threatens self-reliance and thus freedom.

Wisdom (Muninn):

Wisdom plays its part and I will let my source document speak on this issue because I can’t think of a way to put it better:

Being self-reliant also means taking responsibility for one’s life. It’s not just about refusing a welfare check or not lobbying for a tax exemption, but also refusing to blame one’s failures on religious intolerance, the patriarchy, or an unfair system. The system may, in fact, be unfair, but it’s our own responsibility to deal with it.

– The Values of Asatru

Wise words. My ultimate advocacy for self-reliance is reflected in my own success, despite the obstacles, to be self-reliant.

Conclusion:

I would say people become much too reliant on others and it robs them of what they could have. They look too much to others, like the government, and thus borrow from the future of prosperity of others to feed their own in the now. The national debt of the United States is one great symptom that shows the harmful results of this overreliance on others. This is not to say you can’t when truly needed, get help from others, but we often do so to the point it is harmful to others and this robs both them and us. Life would indeed be better for all if people found as many solutions to their own problems on their own first; only relying on others when absolutely necessary.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Thoughts on Freedom” – A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues

May 29, 2019May 29, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Wooden’s (Odin’s) Day

Journal Entry:

Governments don’t grant freedom. Religion doesn’t grant freedom. The right to liberty and freedom simply is, it is others who are arrogant in their presumption that they have the ‘right’ to take it away or grant it. If you need permission to do something from the government, religion or any other force, you are not free to do it. If we are going to say liberty is an inalienable right, no permission is needed for it to exist. The best we can do with the government is hope it will defend our liberty. The best we can hope from religion is that it minds its own business about the way we live our own life.

But as the anarchists will point out, the very fact that government exists is an affront to the idea of rights and liberty specifically. I agree with them theoretically. I have always felt the problems with anarchism are not the theory and philosophy of it, but rather the practical application. It overlooks one key thing about human beings – we are inherently tribal. I think the founding fathers of the United States using their reason recognized this, so they understood that government is a necessary evil and tried to create one that actually protected the rights of its citizens and one that was so restricted as to not encroach on rights quickly or without restraint. Smart practical men, but they knew over time even their system would fail if it wasn’t maintained by people who value freedom and liberty.

For me personally, I am free because I am free. I alone bear the responsibility of my actions and The Book of Rabyd 2:2 kicks in a lot. It is the following of the virtues of Self-Reliance, Industriousness, and Hospitality that do more to maintain and follow after freedom than anything else.

Self-Reliance:

“Self-Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved not only for the individual but also for the family, clan, tribe, and nation.”

Principle: To achieve and maintain personal independence and advocate for independence in my family, state and nation.

Goal: Find a new, better paying job by the end of June 2019 or before.

Bucket List: To own and run my own successful business or company.

Liberty and Freedom are the two reasons why I work so hard for self-reliance. Anything else is dependence and it can lead to slavery. The cage can be guided but it is still a cage. The more you are independent through being self-reliant, the more options you have that are created by you and that leads to freedom.

Industriousness:

“Industriousness is the willingness to work hard, always striving for efficiency, as a joyous activity in itself”

Principle: Work with the enjoyment of work itself.

Goal: Working on it.

Bucket List: Write A Novel and Get it Published.

This kind of freedom and liberty doesn’t just come to you, you have to work to create it. It doesn’t mean you have to work harder but that may be involved. You can work smarter or create something that does some of the work for you. But freedom and liberty are found in the fact that you have chosen the work for yourself and that you enjoy it.

Hospitality:

“Hospitality is the willingness to share what one has with one’s fellows, especially when they are far from home.”

Principle: To share out of my abundance to help people where I can with their life’s journey.

Goal: By March 31st of 2020, to be the leader of a support group of some kind.

Bucket List: To own my own home by March 2024.

Being prosperous enough through liberty and freedom with the other two virtues, allows you to be generous. I think this is the one missing element of the entire capitalist structure. This is not the fault of capitalism but rather capitalists who succumb to greed rather than hospitality which would lead to greater overall prosperity. If you can’t let go of what you create then you truly are not free of its control over you. Slavery takes a lot of forms and one of those forms is being a slave to having to own and control everything.

Higher Virtue – Justice:

The best way to live creating justice is to live in liberty not just for yourself but for others as well. Justice means you let people be free to pursue their own path and don’t interfere or meddle in any way. You respect freedom and liberty as forces enough ot let others have it.

Daily Routine:

Wife: Communication / Cuddle Time
Blogging – Organize, revise, write a new post for the next day, 15 min. work on fiction.
Reading – half-hour. Priority order: work, school, pleasure
Study / Homework / Research: half hour per day minimum or until all necessary work is completed.
Personal Business: record financial transactions, savings plan actions, budgeting, appointments, other actions, etc.
Check Communications and Email after 2 pm but before 4 pm.
Weekly Routine Items
Nutrition: Daily Carb Count – 2

June 2 starts another full week for me and I am going to try to be in a position to put all my routines into action more fully. I have a few goals that depend on these routines so I need to get better at getting them complete.

Still walking,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Of Wolves and Ravens – Austrian Economics

April 23, 2019April 23, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Discussion:

Having an Economics Minor is a real boon at times when you listen to politicians. The reason is you know somewhat how a politicians plans will affect the economy. It gives you an insight as to what that politicians is asking the government to take control of and what damage it will do.

I make no secret a I am a very free market person. I think when you look at inflation there is no doubt that it is created by government interference to reduce their debt burden by shifting it to the population. When you look at things through the lens of economic law, this is the best way to go as people though their own individual expression will meet their own needs if motivated by survival and prosperity. This has led me to the Austrian School of economics as the most realistic course for libertarian thought and economics.

Economics is not a theoretical science. It has laws much like the laws of physics. The problem with most theories of economics is that they attempt to bypass these laws. These laws are based on observation and human nature. Economics is often called organized common sense and the Austrian Economist simply tries to understand and work with those laws. They simply do not think in terms of the government being a solution but rather the cause of problems with the economy and they are right.

One famous example is Ron Paul’s prediction of the housing bubble collapse in 2003. While Keynesian economists were urging the Fed to create the housing bubble on purpose, Paul was warning that its collapse was inevitable and would be detrimental to the economy effecting everyone negatively. Paul ended up being very right. People lost equity in their homes and the housing market became completely burned out for quite some time. I would say only now can we say it has recovered full and this collapse was the product of direct government interference.

The real issue with all other schools of thought is that they think that they think government has some magic to prevent these things or cause growth. In truth, much like they cannot legislate people to be moral, economically speaking they have no magic to make things better to make people more productive or safer economically. I find it funny that one part says that morals are not the place for government but the economy is. The others say morals are where government should be and the economy is not. Neither one can really explain how the area they think the government which is bad for one thing wouldn’t be bad for the other.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

Needs (Geri):

What we need from government is a referee, not a player. The more control the government gets in the economy the more they become players of they act as referee but they have accepted a bride. The best way to handle this is to not give them economic power but only the legal power to settle disputes. Nothing more.

Wants (Freki):

What I want is economic freedom. The more the government gets involved the less economic freedom I have. Austrians simply state that economics is not the place for government to be. The only role they should have is to protect against fraud and coercion. Unfortunately and inevitably, the greater government power grows over the economy, the more fraud and coercion they engage in themselves.

Reason (Huginn):

The most rational course is liberty in economic matters. Let people work out for themselves how resources should be allocated and they do far better than a central planning committee. There will always be personal greedy motives of any monopoly, whether that monopoly is held by a corporation or government.

Wisdom (Muninn):

Austrian economics for me has is central wisdom the fact that a central committee as proposed in socialism or communism has the same problem as a monopoly. The individual will always suffer in such a situation and a central committee always benefits. As George Orwell Observes in Animal Farm – the pigs become the farmer at the expense of the rest of the animals. The wisdom we can draw from them is that the poison that kills economies is this idea of control at the expense of liberty.

Conclusion:

Now it should be noted that I would love to live in a world of pure capitalism where he government isn’t even present. The one problem I have with that is the fact that there are people who are bastards and so people want some sort of referee and I don’t think people would accept such a notion without some sort of system of filing grievances. I agree that private ways of doing this would be produced and would probably be better. However, practicality in dealing with human nature is what has kept me Austrian and a Classical Liberal rather than an anarchist. It I more a question of what people will accept rather than what would be best.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Of Wolves and Ravens – My Minimalism

April 16, 2019April 16, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Discussion:

I practice minimalism and it is no accident that when I coupled things for discussion under Of Wolves and Ravens, Minimalism with Self-Reliance are together. Minimalism forces you to be more reliant on yourself and less on stuff for happiness. It also leads to a greater prosperity that allows you to be more self-reliant because you are not wasting resources (time and money) on things you don’t need or things that don’t make you happy.

I will probably be going though all my stuff one more time once the semester is over and I can imagine some more of it is going to the garbage heap. Right now, I could pack up everything I personally own in less than a day to move. My wife is a different story, but if it was just me, I could be out the door fairly quickly. Philosophically this leads to a greater freedom and forms a building tool for the virtue of self-reliance.

There are few of my life behaviors that I would say are a reflection of minimalism:

Hiking. I really am considering buying over time the basic load out I will need for a day hike and then an overnight hike. When you do that, the question of what you need is very important, because you don’t want to be schlepping anything you don’t need, because it expends more energy than you want. Lot of life lessons in that too.
Routine. My whole process of journaling, routines and blogging keeps me focused on what I need and want so I don’t waste time on something that is ultimately useless to me.
Nudism – I have to say there is nothing more minimalist that being a home nudist. Cuts down on the need for laundry. But also I really look at my closet and say do I need this or does this make me happy? When you just as happy in your skin as you are in your favorite shirt, that changes how you perceive that question.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

Needs (Geri):

Minimalism really causes you to ask the question what you really need. Food and Water. yep. Shelter from dangerous elements at times. Other than that, needs of a social and psychological variety are very flexible. Minimalism is definitely a needed tool for finding prosperity. As it focuses you resources instead of wasting them.

Wants (Freki):

Minimalism also has taught me to focus my efforts in identifying my wants and then picking things that actually get me closer to them. I am very conscious of wasting my time on things that don’t matter or my money on things I know will only be temporary in their happiness and then will collect dust. I don’t spend my money on that stuff very much anymore.

Reason (Huginn):

Fat wolves can’t fight. Need and Want are important but Reason tells me to feed them only what they need and not be wasteful because lean times come eventually. Minimalism prepares you for those lean times two ways. One, you often have the things you need to get through them because you haven’t been wasteful in the first place. Two, you learn that you can live without a lot. Your survival mindset is better.

Wisdom (Muninn):

I have a found a lot of joy in simplicity thanks to minimalism. Joy in being free from the desire to possess. There is a wisdom to being in a position where you have what you need and what you truly want and nothing more. This makes life much better. You can make good decisions and are not affected so much about other people’ perspectives of you. Waste is foolish and minimalism allows you to recognize that point and stay away from it.

Conclusion:

I had a particularly minimalism moment the other day. I was sitting at home alone in my skin and writing a blog article. I felt at peace. It is a rare feeling but made possible in part by the fact that without a lot of stuff to worry about, I have fewer worries. Minimalism helped bring me that moment.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues – Epic Struggle (Part 2)

April 10, 2019April 10, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Wooden’s (Odin’s) Day

Journal Entry:

The second of Loki’s Children I want to address as a metaphor is Hel, the goddess ruler of Helheim. This is land of the dead that people go to who do not die with courage or in battle. Those who die of ordinary causes or die in bed. When I wrote of her realm in my Grey Wayfarer fiction series, I said this:

Not that life in Helheim was a terrible one. It was just life continued only in a world of grey with little pleasure. She was sure some of its citizens still had sex, but it was the dull motions of a temporary relief from boredom. Mostly people continued to work and exist, but there was no feasting, no mead and very little laughter in Helheim.

I think this couples well with my Epic struggle with The Grey. If there is any challenge to my Business Virtues it is the dull monotony of living. The struggle of working and existing. To get up in the morning only to go back to bed at night wondering what you accomplished, if anything. Then you get up again to do it again. I hate that feeling and it is the epic struggle against the boredom of life that I address with the virtues of Self-Reliance, Industriousness and Hospitality.

Self-Reliance:

“Self Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved not only for the individual, but also for the family, clan, tribe and nation.”

Principle: To achieve and maintain personal independence and advocate for independence in my family, state and nation.

Goal: Find a new, better paying job by the end of June 2019 or before.

Bucket List: To own and run my own successful business or company.

Achieving the prosperity that is needed for self-reliance is a wonderful struggle when you look at it in those terms. Independence is the goal. You are fighting for your personal freedom and that gives it a revolutionary quality. That takes work but it is work with a vision of the future that is strong and not just going through the motions.

The job search continues and the next three days I am not working so I have a lot to do regarding it. I am hoping something comes up soon. It is not that I hate my current job. I like parts of it very much and I like who I work with. I like working. I just know I can do better. Beside, all this education goes to waste, if I don’t find something better.

Industriousness:

“Industriousness is the willingness to work hard, always striving for efficiency, as a joyous activity in itself”

Principle: Work with enjoyment of work itself.

Goal: Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship by May 2019

Bucket List: Write A Novel and Get it Published.

I enjoy working. My ideas about it have changed greatly as I have meditated on Industriousness these last months. There is something about work that gives a person purpose. The constant challenge of being more efficient and effective in work definitely appeals to my sense of economics.

My internship seems to have stalled a bit as I have heard nothing from the other people involved for a week now. I don’t care what happens really as long as that box gets checked. Like my non-fiction book I have floated a few ideas about my novel. Something will rise to the top.

Hospitality:

“Hospitality is the willingness to share what one has with one’s fellows, especially when they are far from home.”

Principle: To share out of my abundance to help people where I can with their life’s journey.

Goal: By March 31st of 2020, to be the leader of a support group of some kind.

Bucket List: To own a home by March 2024.

The great thing about prosperity is to share it. My minimalist mindset leaves a lot of abundance even though I don’t have much. I don’t want much either in many senses. Some of that abundance should be used to show compassion.

I still am unsure what to do with the support group idea. It will come to me but I need to spend some more time on it.

Higher Virtue – Justice:

Helheim has no real opportunity to be just or find justice. It just is and that is also something I wish to avoid in my life. I want to find justice for a few things but also want to act justly in all things. That is the goal of these virtues.

Daily Routine:

Wife: Communication / Cuddle Time
Blogging – Organize, revise, write new post for next day, 15 min. work on fiction.
Reading – half hour. Priority order: work, school, pleasure
Study / Homework / Research: half hour per day minimum or until all necessary work is completed.
Personal Business: record financial transactions, savings plan actions, budgeting, appointments, other.
Check Communications and Email after 2 pm but before 4 pm.
Weekly Routine Items
Nutrition: Daily Carb Count – 2

I removed the Latin and it will become a weekly routine item three times a week. It really just kind of hung there are days I was busy. I also change the carb count for the day to two. That makes more sense and it is more reasonable.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues – Realigning Industriousness

March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Wooden’s (Odin’s) Day

Journal Entry:

Hitting the Business Virtues is always a struggle because I am changing a lot of who I am and what I do here. It isn’t just about the virtues but something core to every man – who am I? That said this realignment has been the most helpful here. Today we look at Realigning Industriousness.

“Industriousness is the willingness to work hard, always striving for efficiency, as a joyous activity in itself”

No problems here. I like it as it is written.

Principle: To work with efficiency and with enjoyment for work itself.

A small change to bring in the idea of being efficient which fits the virtue better and my own sense of economics and the need to be efficient.

Goal: Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship by the end of May 2019.

Industriousness needs something to work and a notion that the work is complete at some point. My degree is almost finished and represents a lot of work. Time to hang the degree on the wall and move to whats next. Just a few more months. Added a time frame to make the goal SMART

Bucket List: Write A Novel and Get it Published.

I needed something that reflects my other industrious point – Being a Writer. Writing is work, no mater how enjoyable, it is still work. I need to be more industrious about getting to this bucket list item, and so here it will be.

Self-Reliance:

“Self Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved not only for the individual, but also for the family, clan, tribe and nation.”

Principle: To achieve and maintain personal independence and advocate for independence in my family, state and nation.

Goal: Find a new, better paying job by the end of March 2019 or before.

Bucket List: To own and run my own successful business or company.

Now that I can see the whole picture here it looks like the Goal is the next step toward the Bucket List item. As goals are completed here they should be the next step toward the ultimate goal of ownership o my own business that is successful. This makes things very clear when it comes to self-reliance.

Industriousness:

“Industriousness is the willingness to work hard, always striving for efficiency, as a joyous activity in itself”

Principle: Work with enjoyment of work itself.

Goal: Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship by May 2019

Bucket List: Write A Novel and Get it Published.

Goal and Bucket List item are very oriented toward getting something done in a systematic and efficient manner. I suppose it is at this point that I know that I will be asking myself the question of routine. As in, what routine do I need to add something, so I am doing something every morning, day, evening or week to get a step closer to each goal or bucket list item? That will be the challenge for next week as I complete the process.

Hospitality:

“Hospitality is the willingness to share what one has with one’s fellows, especially when they are far from home.”

Principle: Be ready to be hospitable to those who truly need it.

As I draw closer to the last week of the month, I know this one has to be expanded as far as the Principle. The goal and bucket list item are still up in the air. Although true to the business virtues it will probably be about budgeting so that the element of budget will be a part of it. Hospitality is after all about having excess, so you can show compassion to others who need it.

Higher Virtue – Justice:

Justice is a difficult thing. It becomes more imperative when your viewpoint changes from a person who believed that the Christian god would make everything right in the end to a person who believes it is highly possible that The Divine may demand justice here on earth now. Or maybe there is nothing at all and we need to have justice here on earth to right wrongs and balance the scale or they will never get balanced a all. All I know is that I can just make myself act justly when called for and if given the opportunity balance the scales.. Otherwise patience and forbearance might be the only actions I have.

Daily Routine:

Communication / Cuddle Time
Blogging
Reading / Study – Half-hour per day minimum or until all necessary work is completed.
Clear In Box/ To Do List
Financial Transaction Input
Carb Count – currently two.

There may be some changes here as Goals and Bucket Lists get finalized next week.

Goals:

Be transparent with my wife to improve communication
In 2019 have a clear budget and financial plan working by the end of the year.
Keep gym membership going somewhere and lift weights minimum of four times per week and walk minimum four times per week through end of 2019
Be in the best shape I can be by March 18th, 2019 (50th birthday), take pictures.

As you can see this list is getting shorter; and when this process is complete, it too will disappear. The Goals Achieved thing will make its way to the weekly recap part of the journal posts.

Goals achieved since Summer 2018: 1

Budgeting:

Basic Emergency Fund – $1000
Debt Snowball
Fully funded Emergency fund
Invest 15% of income into retirement
Pay off Home Early
Build Wealth and Give

Just can report with our tax return we are sitting on number one being done right now so debt reduction is a focus at the moment. I should note, with one of my goals involving budgeting, this section will also disappear and be joined with that.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

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