The Higher Virtues

“Principles – Moving Theory to Action” – A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Journal Entry:

Virtues are good and all but they mean nothing if they are not put into practice.  To help facilitate this I added principles that are designed to take the noble language of each principle and boil it down to a simple statement of active action.  Once every five weeks, I go through them to check myself against the trap of having noble virtues but doing nothing to put them into practice.

The foundational principles are simple but in truth like all simple things harder to master. This is where feelings become more than feelings becoming passions.  Those passions move me from thought to action.

Honor:

“Honor is the feeling of inner value and worth from which one knows that one is noble of being, and the desire to show respect for this quality when it is found in the world”

Principle – To possess a feeling of inner value about myself and my future with a desire to find the same in others.

Goal: Maintain a daily blog streak of one post per day for an entire year (365 days).  (achieved)

Bucket List: Hike the Northern Lakeshore Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by March 2024.

Of all my principles this one keeps me looking to the future to that day when I look in the mirror and see an honorable man. It also causes me to evaluate people in the light of honorable things rather than the superficial looking at jsut what they do for me. What people say and do is not the truth, but the patterns of behavior and life that lead to honor is what I  look for now. I suppose it is one thing about my trust issues that have caused me to grow in a positive direction.

Courage:

“Courage is the bravery to do what is right always.”

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

Goal: Cross one thing off bucket list every year. Deadline March 31st.

Bucket List: Go Back to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation by March 2029.

This probably the most constant principle I deal with every single day.  The constant evaluation of what is the bravest thing to do and when to do it. It is the principle that motivates most of the others.

Truth:

“Truth is the willingness, to be honest, and to say what one knows to be true and right. It is often better to not say anything at all if one cannot be honest.”

Principle – To Honestly Pursue, Accept and Speak Truth to All who will Listen.

Goal: To Write a Non-Fiction Book by March 31st, 2020

Bucket List: Read 52 books (one per week) in the year 2020.

I guess the shift in principle is to move from admiring truth and seeking it to its proclamation.  To this end, I have started a Youtube channel.  I guess I miss having a pulpit and so I made one.  You can check it out at – The Rabyd Atheist

Higher Virtue: Love:

Love of self and others is an active thing.  Love has a lot of parts of speech but my principles take it from being a noun that I talk about to being a verb that I act on.

Morning Routine:

  1. Stretching / Yoga
  2. Shower, Personal Hygiene, Breakfast, Morning Meds.
  3. Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV), Principles, Goals and Bucket List
  4. Meditation – 5 min.
  5. Check Communications and Email.
  6. Paper Journal: Update To-Do List.
  7. Get Dressed for the Day

This actually can be done very quickly and has stabilized my mornings and gets my head into a better frame of mind.

I remain.

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

Skaal!!!

“Fidelity, Atheism, and Asatru” – Of Wolves and Ravens – Fidelity

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day

Discussion:

I always have a little twinge of guilt when I write about fidelity or loyalty.  I have had an affair.  I am not proud of it but it happened. I can’t say that all of it was bad either as the reasons I did it were real and in some ways could be justified as I felt at the time loyalty was harmful to me in a lot of ways.   My loyalty to my wife was harmful because it seemed to benefit her far more than it did me.  It led to a passive-aggressive relationship.  My sarcasm is usually playful but at the time with her, it could be biting and it was the same the other way.

As an atheist, fidelity has a give and take to it.  For a long time, I felt love was to sacrifice even to the point of being loyal to a fault.  If anything has changed it has the realization that the person I need to love the most and be loyal to the most is myself. I am all I really have no matter what others may do.  The blind loyalty expected of Christians I now see for what it is – the groundwork to use people for your own ends by playing on their loyalty.  Pride is removed in Christian loyalty which means you can make people do anything because they have no honor and no shame.

Fidelity under Asatru, however, is different.  It has honor as its foundation so no amount of loyalty should robe you of your pride.  If anything fidelity should either build your pride and thus lead to greater honor or it should cause you shame when you fail so you work to make it right and truly a two-way street. Above all, there is no demand to sacrifice your loyalty to yourself – ever.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

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

Needs (Geri):

The need here for me was to change my expectations of loyalty to myself.  If there has been one struggle that is affecting all my relationships it is the fact that sometimes I have walked away because I still have my pride and I will not deal with people who do not respect it. I will not tolerate disloyalty, even from myself, and the challenge is to know when that is happening.

Wants (Freki):

What I want is to restore my sense of honor and loyalty to myself. I do not want compromise to the point where I am in any relationship that has all the benefits or even most of them are going one way – away from myself to the other person.  Mutually beneficial is what I am after here; where loyalty is the strength of those relationships.

Reason (Huginn):

The problem is I can usually rationally see what needs to be done in each relationship.  I have done the infamous INFJ door slam to several people but it takes a lot for me to get there. Mostly though I don’t want to cause pain to others because I get a feedback loop emotionally.  It’s kind fo bitch to know how far you can go before the negative emotions of others start to affect you emotionally.  Reasonably, I can see each relationship and know what to do or should do. It is the emotional lines in the sand I don’t want to cross that can get in the way.

Wisdom (Muninn):

The wisdom is never let loyalty to be slavery to the other person.  Someone who cares about you and is loyal to you will want you to be free and not want you to be their slave. If they cross that line too many times it might be time to let go – self-respect, honor, and fidelity to self are far more important than any relationship.

Conclusion:

Fidelity is important to me and mostly the shift caused by the crisis and becoming an atheist has been to be a person who is loyal first to himself and then everyone else.  My moral philosophy and my loyalty to it and myself are the central things in my life. Every other relationship needs to build that loyalty to myself or respect it, or I am going to have a problem with it.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Viking Virtues – Part 3” – A Skald’s Life – Self Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sif’s Day. 

Journal Entry:

The self virtues do have their outward toward others component but their main focus is on strengthening me, myself, and I.  It is the strength of Discipline, Perseverance, and  Fidelitycombined into the wisdom they bring that gives me my personal overall strength.  All of them either build that strength or preserve it.

When I first started following the Nine Noble Virtues it was about having a code to give me an overall foundation for my life after casting off the shackles of my former faith and life.  Virtues have become the centerpiece of my life and the Asatru virtues are some of the best and a list that resonates with me and my personally the most.  My realization I am an atheist and have been for quite some time does not change that.  The goal is to live a good life and the virtues lead me to that regardless of where they came from.

Discipline:

“Discipline is the willingness to be hard on oneself first and then if needed help with the development with others, so that greater purposes may be achieved.”

Principle: Apply discipline to every aspect of life that it can be applied.

Goal: To be following a full Paleo Diet by March 31, 2020.

Bucket List: Do a rebellious act on April 30th, 2020 – Beltane.

My routines are the main expression of this virtue.  I don’t think I am hard enough on myself. I need to make sure that each and every day the checklists and routines are done so there is peace of mind as I go into times of relaxing and enjoying life.

Perseverance:

“Perseverance is the ability to stand up and return from defeat and failure”

Principle: Keep getting up after every defeat or failure.

Goal: To engage in an exercise program that involves weightlifting, hiking/walking, and stretching/ yoga an average of three days a week from April 1st, 2019 to March 31st, 2020

Bucket List: To get at least one tattoo by March 18th, 2020.

I guess part of perseverance I should add is to learn from each defeat and failure.  yeah, I still want to get up every time, but I would also like to fall down less and that comes form learning.

Fidelity:

“Fidelity is the will to be loyal to one’s moral philosophy, to one’s family, one’s friends, and most important to one’s self, and loyalty to one’s friends is valued as highly as loyalty to one’s family.”

Principle: Be loyal to those who have been loyal to me.

Goal: Celebrate my wife and I’s 30th anniversary (June 10th, 2019) with a mini-vacation (achieved)

Bucket List: Discover all the countries of origin from my genetics and visit them all by March 18th, 2029.

This is a hard virtue because I have very high standards of loyalty.  So to me, a person can appear to betray me a lot easier than I should probably think.  It’s my perception that it can be a problem.  I am as fierce as a bear when it comes to protecting my own and those who are loyal to me, but that is a very exclusive club.

Higher Virtue – Wisdom:

The whole point of all the virtues in many ways is to gain and live by wisdom. I just need to understand the center of this and its core in many ways is my understanding of myself and learning to discipline myself better.

Rest Day Routine: 

  1. Morning Routine
  2. Wife: Communication / Cuddle Time
  3. Blogging – Organize, revise, write a new post for the next day, 15 min. work on fiction.
  4. Cleaning – varies but one room of the apartment at least.
  5. Reading – 1/7th of a book
  6. Writing – 3000 Words

Solid.  I actually had some success with this routine this week.

Goals and Bucket List Items Achieved (Since Summer 2018):

Goals Achieved: 5

  1. Graduated College with a BS in Political Science and minors in Economics and International Business – December 2018
  2. Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship by May 2019 – May 2019
  3. Celebrate my wife and I’s 30th anniversary (June 10th, 2019) with a mini-vacation – June 2019
  4. Maintain a daily blog streak of one post per day for an entire year (365 days).
  5. By March 31st of 2020, to be the leader/participant in a group of some kind.

Bucket List Items Achieved: 0

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Counseling Thoughts” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Frigg and Freya’s Day!

I would normally be doing a Freya’s Chambers today but I need to do some more research on some things before I wrote about them.  Part of the problem is my thoughts are a jumbled mess since meeting with both my job coach and my therapist on Wednesday so I feel the need to write about this at least in general terms.  It is not really a The Grey and The Wayfarer kind fo post.  More of thoughts being conflicted sort of post so I am trying to sort them out by writing about them.

Every time I think about the job situation it brings up a whole pack of emotions because of the fact that my last church fired me instead of accepting my resignation so it leaves my job history with a huge hole. Of course, I don’t feel I want to use any of those people as contacts for new jobs because I clearly can’t trust them.  That resource is gone and so I am now painfully aware I need to do something very uncomfortable for me which I build my network back up and that means talking to people about what they do and seeing if it fits me. I am just not very good at just starting cold conversations like that.

I am creating multiple prototypes of my life to come but all of them require either moving to the one place I still have contacts and that is not going to sit well with my wife and perhaps even my family.  I WANT a completely fresh start just to move on.  Just to have the feeling that I am not going to run into somebody I know and have to explain things all over again.   I won’t have the fear of running into Miss Salty or the Dirty Pig because I still don;t know how I would react to either. I just to be with my best friend and start over in a new place with new people.  This involves a big move literally and figuratively.

I don’t know how to express this any way that is spoken, so I write about it and I am trying to be careful about being open about what I talk with my therapist about in detail but the fact that I continue to struggle with doing what would make me happy versus what makes everyone else happy has become the BIG struggle of my life. This is my frost giant to fight right now. The problem is sometimes I see the face of the frost giant and it’s my own.

Part of me died with my faith, but it keeps acting like a ghost to haunt and attack my thoughts and feelings.   I am trying to bring new life to the place of deadness, but to me, that means a lot of new things need to happen and soon.  As an atheist, life is much more precious to me now realizing it will be the only one I get and is finite. I want my own happiness to be central and I want to do all I can to secure it.  I just don’t feel that will ever happen if the situation does not change drastically.

Both my job coach and my therapist have helped me sort out my own thoughts on this and for that, I am very grateful.  I truly think people should get over the stigma of therapy.  I am glad to have it. I have to thank The Clergy Project for that.

Thanks for reading this very personal post but it needed to be done.  My writing has stimied and so has my reading.  Sometimes getting things off my chest helps.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Viking Virtues – Part 2” – A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day! 

Journal Entry:

The virtues that constitute business virtues for me have the quality of being ones that more directly deal with other people while at the same time maintain my personal integrity.  They are about having a perception of myself that others see that is true and accurate.  Thus Self-Reliance, Industriousness, and Hospitality.

All of these combine into a sense of justice that is about dealing justly both with others and myself.  That all my relationships are founded on doing the right thing as fairly as possible. Not an easy task to be sure, but it all starts with a desire to work hard to be independent but at the same time become passionate to others.

Self-Reliance:

“Self-Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved when each person is their own master and no one else’s’ .”

Principle: To walk in the spirit of independence by being my own master and no one else’s

Goal:  Find a new, better paying job by March 2020.

Bucket List: To be a published author of at least five books by March 2029

No gods, no masters.  I bow to no one and I expect no one to help me.  It doesn’t preclude recognizing when you do need help.  I do after all belong to a support group for former ministers, have a job counselor and a therapist. This is more about helping me help myself more than anything.  The ultimate decisions need to be mine.  These people are here to help me make better ones.

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: Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship by May 2019 – May 2019 (achieved)

Bucket List: Write A Novel and Get it Published by March 2022.

No lazy person ever really gained anything of value to them.  The things I have now are few but I value all of them very highly because I earned them.  I worked hard and worked efficiently to gain them.  I forge my own fortune and industriousness is about working the forge itself.

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/participant in a group of some kind.  (Goal Achieved

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

Hospitality remind me that the goal is to return help for help.  To be an aid for someone who needs it.  We don’t live in a vacuum and we are after all a social species that has learned survival is best if we help one another. My goal here is to pay things forward that I have received.  We are only strong for a little while and while we are, we should help others with that strength.

Higher Virtue – Justice:

Justice for me is twofold: to get justice for wrongs is obvious, but acting justly in all relationships is the larger and more constant aspect of justice here.

Work Day Routine:

  1. Morning Routine
  2. Wife: Communication / Cuddle Time
  3. Blogging – Organize, revise, write a new post for the next day, templates
  4. Weightlifting: Gym time – 1 hour after work.
  5. Writing: 1000 words/day.
  6. Reading – 1/7 of a book a day
  7. Personal Business: record financial transactions, savings plan actions, budgeting, appointments, job search, other actions, etc.
  8. Check Communications and Email after 2 pm but before 4 pm.

Workdays can be hectic but they also get things done.  My rest days are still a little productive but not near as much as these days where work is all day long for the most part.  I do go to bed satisfied with a day well done.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Viking Virtues – Part 1” – A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Journal Entry:

As I begin the first journal post of the year, I am glad to find myself discussing the virtues of Asatru directly.  If I find anything that is with me at the beginning of the year it is not so much as to make resolutions ( I didn’t and don’t) but to renew my resolve.  I have never been one to just hope events will change my lifestyle but rather work every day to improve myself and be better than I was the day before.  That is why I journal on this blog and why my goals and bucket list items are regular parts of my life. The point of them is to keep my resolve into achieving more each day.

Honor, Courage, and Truth are foundational because they represent things that hold up the rest.  While the other virtues are more active, these are a constant force that underlies every decision and action I make. They are core.

Honor:

“Honor is the feeling of inner value and worth from which one knows that one is noble of being, and the desire to show respect for this quality when it is found in the world”

Principle – To possess a feeling of inner value about myself and my future with a desire to find the same in others.

Goal: Maintain a daily blog streak of one post per day for an entire year (365 days).  (achieved)

Bucket List: Hike the Northern Lakeshore Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by March 2024.

Honor and Respect are the qualities that I need in my life.  I have found other things are much more valuable and profitable when I value and honor myself. Honor is something that is the greatest struggle for many and I am no exception.

Courage:

“Courage is the bravery to do what is right always.”

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

Goal: Cross one thing off bucket list every year. Deadline March 31st.

Bucket List: Go Back to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation by March 2029.

I still find myself holding back regarding certain people and ideas. I just need to find a little more steel to put in my veins. The iron of heart.  There are some discussions that need to take place.

Truth:

“Truth is the willingness, to be honest, and to say what one knows to be true and right. It is often better to not say anything at all if one cannot be honest.”

Principle – To Honestly Pursue, Accept and Speak Truth to All who will Listen.

Goal: To Write a Non-Fiction Book by March 31st, 2020

Bucket List: Read 52 books (one per week) in the year 2020.

Speaking the truth to myself is the hardest.  I wonder sometimes if that fucker listens to himself. But in the end when accepted the greatest freedoms arise.  Truth is valuable and I need to see that again.

Higher Virtue: Love:

I need to love myself.  That is all that needs to be said.

Morning Routine:

  1. Stretching / Yoga
  2. Shower, Personal Hygiene, Breakfast, Morning Meds.
  3. Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV), Principles, Goals and Bucket List
  4. Meditation – 5 min.
  5. Check Communications and Email.
  6. Paper Journal: Update To-Do List.
  7. Get Dressed for the Day

I like it now and so far so good.

I remain.

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

Skaal!!!

“Perseverance, Atheism, and Asatru” – Of Wolves and Ravens – Perseverance

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day

Discussion:

Perhaps the most challenging thing for me and perseverance is that I can take it for granted. I keep getting up and moving on regardless of how hard I get knocked down. The problem with this is I don’t always learn lesson associated with getting knocked down as I take it for granted I will jsut get back up.

Being relentless is an Asatru virtue. Continuing despite obstacles and opposition until the goal is reached.  No retreat, no surrender, death or glory.  This is probably them ost all or nothing philosophical viewpoint I have because of the fact that now as an atheist I realize that it is essential or life simply stops.

There will be a final opponent that will truly beat me. It is the last breath and last battle that we all have fear about in the end.  My goal is to face it knowing this last thing may have knocked me down for the last time, but from a standpoint of all my other battles, I got up and kept going. Without a god, the only one that can keep me going is myself – period.  Others can encourage, but it is up to me to keep going.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

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

Needs (Geri):

I think the need for perseverance is obvious.  You stop without it.  Sometimes this can be figurative or literal but the main issue is that with perseverance, you will continue as long as you are able to continue.

Wants (Freki):

I would also say that perseverance leads to the quality of being unbeatable. That is no defeat ever stops you from trying again to finding a different way. Is a person who lives perseverance ever really defeated?

Reason (Huginn):

Of course, each defeat has a lesson and this is where I often fail to grasp it.  I jsut get up and don’t really think about why I fell in the first place.  If I did give this some thought, I might find myself knocked own less often. I might be able to avoid it in the first place.

Wisdom (Muninn):

The wisdom side of perseverance is not directly beneficial to me, it is about those who watch me.  I never want my kids, grandkids, friends or even enemies to ever see me quit.  Ever. One the one hand those that love me will draw inspiration from me and me from them. As for my enemies, may it remind them constantly how relentless I can be and I will refuse to submit or give up.  Fight me knowing you have to destroy me. Beating me will not be enough.

Conclusion:

I find perseverance the virtue of Asatru that is most natural to me.  It has its pitfalls because of this, but I embrace it fully.  It has in many ways become part of my personality.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Rest Day Routine” – A Skald’s Life – Self Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sif’s Day. 

Journal Entry:

I believe in active rest that is on purpose.  Training and Nutrition, for instance, need a chance to do what they are going to do to our bodies and rest is what accomplishes that.  In life, it is important to deliberately rest and not make it about just being lazy.  Although being lazy can be a good thing from time to time, as a lifestyle it accomplishes little.

This is why my rest day has some things that are active.  I read and write and still do my morning routine. I also clean for a bit as the sense of putting things in order gives me some peace and a sense of purpose.

Discipline:

“Discipline is the willingness to be hard on oneself first and then if needed help with the development with others, so that greater purposes may be achieved.”

Principle: Apply discipline to every aspect of life that it can be applied.

Goal: To be following a full Paleo Diet by March 31, 2020.

Bucket List: Do a rebellious act on April 30th, 2020 – Beltane.

I have never accomplished a consistent progress without discipline and routine.  To me, this is not boring but the means to get the moments I want. It can be quite exciting when

Perseverance:

“Perseverance is the ability to stand up and return from defeat and failure”

Principle: Keep getting up after every defeat or failure.

Goal: To engage in an exercise program that involves weightlifting, hiking/walking, and stretching/ yoga an average of three days a week from April 1st, 2019 to March 31st, 2020

Bucket List: To get at least one tattoo by March 18th, 2020.

Part of a routine is not getting flustered when you fail.  You just get up the next day and try again.

Fidelity:

“Fidelity is the will to be loyal to one’s moral philosophy, to one’s family, one’s friends, and most important to one’s self, and loyalty to one’s friends is valued as highly as loyalty to one’s family.”

Principle: Be loyal to those who have been loyal to me.

Goal: Celebrate my wife and I’s 30th anniversary (June 10th, 2019) with a mini-vacation (achieved)

Bucket List: Discover all the countries of origin from my genetics and visit them all by March 18th, 2029.

Loyalty factors into a routine in that the design is about being loyal to many things consistently.  Most notably myself.

Higher Virtue – Wisdom:

Routine is wise.

Rest Day Routine: 

  1. Morning Routine
  2. Wife: Communication / Cuddle Time
  3. Blogging – Organize, revise, write a new post for the next day, 15 min. work on fiction.
  4. Cleaning – varies but one room of the apartment at least.
  5. Reading – 1/7th of a book
  6. Writing – 3000 Words

This has been a quick post because I have been struggling with my issue this last week but I know the cure will be found in my routine.

Goals and Bucket List Items Achieved (Since Summer 2018):

Goals Achieved: 5

  1. Graduated College with a BS in Political Science and minors in Economics and International Business – December 2018
  2. Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship by May 2019 – May 2019
  3. Celebrate my wife and I’s 30th anniversary (June 10th, 2019) with a mini-vacation – June 2019
  4. Maintain a daily blog streak of one post per day for an entire year (365 days).
  5. By March 31st of 2020, to be the leader/participant in a group of some kind.

Bucket List Items Achieved: 0

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Work Day Routine” – A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day! 

Journal Entry:

Probably the simplest way to look at this routine is to take it step by step and review what changes I am making. But first, the point I need to make is that routine if properly done leads to having more time to live the life you want to live. If it does not then it is not doing what it is supposed to do.  Routine needs to strive for efficiency to the point of being a time-saver, not a time-waster.  With that in mind, let’s review:

  1. Morning Routine – No changes as this is simply a parker that the morning routine gets done.
  2. Wife: Communication / Cuddle Time – This happens at some point in the day but it is a priority which is why it falls second on the list.
  3. Blogging – Organize, revise, write a new post for the next day, templates – sound, just need to do it more.
  4. Weightlifting: Gym time – 1 hour after work. – I need to actually use the full hour at some point.  Probably new years I need to start walking with the goal of getting ready for better weather to hike more.
  5. Writing: 1000 words/day. – Need better discipline here.
  6. Reading – 1/7 of a book a day.  Ditto.
  7. Personal Business: record financial transactions, savings plan actions, budgeting, appointments, job search, other actions, etc. – Discipline
  8. Check Communications and Email after 2 pm but before 4 pm – Discipline

I eliminated the daily carb count as starting in January, the struggle will be to be fully paleo with probably three cheat meals a week.  This really the only change other than filling my hour of time working out.

Self-Reliance:

“Self-Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved when each person is their own master and no one else’s’ .”

Principle: To walk in the spirit of independence by being my own master and no one else’s

Goal:  Find a new, better paying job by March 2020.

Bucket List: To be a published author of at least five books by March 2029

My workday routine has a lot of writing and reading that is focused on my getting books published but also a business side of life is present for me personally which is also needed.

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: Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship by May 2019 – May 2019 (achieved)

Bucket List: Write A Novel and Get it Published by March 2022.

Ditto to above in Self Reliance only focused on a novel.

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/participant in a group of some kind.  (Goal Achieved

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

The routine on a  workday is about creating prosperity and preparing myself to be better.

Higher Virtue – Justice:

I need to look at both my routines for the day as being fair with myself.  Being hard on myself through discipline os life is easier when it is just me living it. This is the goal of the Work Day Routine so that the Rest Day Routine is truly about Rest for the most part.  Justice is about keeping the scales balanced and the routine of life when properly done keeps that balance.

Work Day Routine:

  1. Morning Routine
  2. Wife: Communication / Cuddle Time
  3. Blogging – Organize, revise, write a new post for the next day, templates
  4. Weightlifting: Gym time – 1 hour after work.
  5. Writing: 1000 words/day.
  6. Reading – 1/7 of a book a day
  7. Personal Business: record financial transactions, savings plan actions, budgeting, appointments, job search, other actions, etc.
  8. Check Communications and Email after 2 pm but before 4 pm.

One change and a call for more discipline.  I don’t think the routine is the problem.  It’s me.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“My Morning Routine” – A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Journal Entry:

My daily routine is shit these days.  I hate the holidays and I need more things to be habits rather than struggles. This is why I added a week to specifically discuss routine because it is the key to a better future.  Life has a way of passing and how we control what happens to our time and what we spend our time on is important.  For me, this is particularly true.

My morning routine is pretty messed up at times.  It is simply the fact that I need to spend more time doing other things at this time of year. I really wish I had a job that had a more stable schedule as this would help all my routines but the morning routine is simply a matter of me getting up and doing what needs to be done. Not just that but what needs to be done in terms of keeping myself balanced emotionally and that starts with meditation.  Something this last month I have struggled with.

I think this stems from my atheism.  Meditation seems too ‘spiritual’ even though I know it has psychological benefits that have nothing to do with divine anything.  It can feel like my old religious past and that is something I find distasteful anymore. But virtue is true regardless of religion and I know when I am meditating regularly, I am more stable emotionally.  This is the part of my morning routine I need to make more consistent and I think that it will require a meditation altar and a consistent form.

Honor:

“Honor is the feeling of inner value and worth from which one knows that one is noble of being, and the desire to show respect for this quality when it is found in the world”

Principle – To possess a feeling of inner value about myself and my future with a desire to find the same in others.

Goal: Maintain a daily blog streak of one post per day for an entire year (365 days).  (achieved)

Bucket List: Hike the Northern Lakeshore Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by March 2024.

My morning routine is probably the thing that develops honor in myself more than any other time.  It is about me finding balance and strength and being prepared for the day.

Courage:

“Courage is the bravery to do what is right always.”

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

Goal: Cross one thing off bucket list every year. Deadline March 31st.

Bucket List: Go Back to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation by March 2029.

I know of no routine that prepares one for the necessity of courage other than to meditate on courage.  That is definitely why meditation is important.

Truth:

“Truth is the willingness, to be honest, and to say what one knows to be true and right. It is often better to not say anything at all if one cannot be honest.”

Principle – To Honestly Pursue, Accept and Speak Truth to All who will Listen.

Goal: To Write a Non-Fiction Book by March 31st, 2020

Bucket List: Read 52 books (one per week) in the year 2020.

The reading and writing as part of my daily routine need to be more solid.  Too many things hinge on them.

Higher Virtue: Love:

I recently heard a speaker via YouTube make a simple statement that learning to love oneself is key to everything and that one should take the chance and love yourself first and then the rest will flow out of that.  I couldn’t agree more but my personal struggle has always been to put myself on the back burner for others.  Finding balance here is the key and routine is the process of turning that key.  Of spending time on what is important to me.

Morning Routine:

  1. Stretching / Yoga
  2. Shower, Personal Hygiene, Breakfast, Morning Meds.
  3. Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV), Principles, Goals and Bucket List
  4. Meditation – 5 min.
  5. Check Communications and Email.
  6. Paper Journal: Create a Daily Log and To-Do List.
  7. Get Dressed for the Day

There is no need to change this.  There is a need to be more consistent in doing it. But that is probably true for all my routines.

I remain.

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

Skaal!!!