Courage

A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues – Daily Routine

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Geri, Freki, Hugin, Munin... Valknut

Happy Moon’s Day

With my Morning Routine set up, the discussion turns to my Daily Routine.  What is the stuff I do every day?  Well, probably what I would like to see every day at this point.

Daily Routine:

  1. Blogging – the general target is to have three posts cued up in the scheduled list by day’s end and four others in the draft file in various stages of construction.
  2. Reading – 1 hour per day.  Right now this is taken up by school, but eventually I would like this to be free to read what I want.
  3. Study / Homework – 1 hour per day or until all necessary work is completed. This is currently on my list because of school.  I think it might stay after school is over because I will be using it for research or for writing things for publication.
  4. Empty In Box – I have a box on my desk that I put stuff in that requires my attention.  The goal is to have it empty at the end of every day.
  5. Financial Transaction input – I try to put all financial transactions for me and my wife in my computer each day.  It doesn’t take long.
  6. Communication / Cuddle Time – I try to do this with my wife every day for at least a half hour. Sometimes our varied schedules make this difficult.  It is actually the number one thing on this list and gets done when there is time.

None of this stuff actually takes very long other than the time limit stuff.  My goal is to have it done each day, so every day I am finished with things and making progress.  That the administration of life is kept up with every single day is the major goal here.

Mostly this is only problematic on days where I have both work and class.  On those days free time is at a premium.  Otherwise I have time to do all of it.

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 – Be positive about my future

At work and school I guess I feel that inner sense of honor to a point.  People at both places value my contributions and that is good for my self-esteem in that sense.  Most of the challenges to honor come from my dreams and the occasional person I run into who used to greet me warmly but now shuns me.  The people who shun me are easy to deal with – 1) check them off as no longer a friend, and  2) move along treating them as someone I used to know.  Dreams are a bit harder. My recurring dream is me going about my daily business but with people who I used to know yelling at me.  They yell things at me indicating my moral failures and my short comings.  The dreams always end with them turning violent and me being the victim of a death-wound by one of them.  I usually wake up at that point.  If I dwell on this too much my honor level drops a bit.

I am starting to feel more positive about my future.  I applied for graduation this last week so that is in the works. I am feeling better about school in general although I do have some more work to do yet to catch up.  It’s close now to the end and I think I will be a better position for a better job after graduation.

Courage:

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

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

In my dreams the word ‘coward’ comes out of the mouths of some.  I don’t really get that accusation.  I simply have responded at times to what people have done to me by talking about it openly.  The coward would gossip, slander, back bite and back stab.  I don’t do those things.  I either tell people what happened from my perspective or I keep silent. I don’t feel I need to respond directly to people who in my estimation were the first ones to act in cowardice toward me.  Virtue is a two-way street and if the accusation of being a coward came from someone I consider brave, I would give it thought.  As it is, not so much.

I have an evaluation coming up at work.  I need to speak on the future with that company.  My additional problem is I need an internship. This is going to require some courage to explain to my present employer where I stand with them. If I am not going to have a good and productive future with them, then I need to move on when I can.

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 – Pursue knowledge, wisdom and truth at all times.

Honesty with others is not so great an issue as honesty with myself. I am wrestling with so much these days as far as truth with me that I have a hard time with keeping my foundation stable. These days I prefer silence and peace. If only those voices from my dreams would stop haunting me when I am awake.

I am getting ready to write my last major paper for school – My Political Science Capstone.   I am wrestling with the topic and the thesis statement.  I have permission to use this for my Health Economics Class as well.  I want this paper to reflect what I see as the truth about a health issue.  It has to have sound political science basis, economics and if I can get my international business knowledge into it as well – bonus.  It’s not just about a paper but a final reflection on what I have learned in this degree and applying it to real life. It’s about pursuing truth as well.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – Havamal 142 – Wisdom, Word and Deed

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Announcements:

We don’t pray here – we figure God, the gods and goddesses, or whatever powers that be 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, 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 giving to the divine powers, their giving to an organization to support it.  Just being honest. God, the gods or whatever never see a dime, farthing or peso of that money, it all goes to the church, mosque or shrine.

Opening Song: Disturbed – Indestructible

Disturbed has become a new band for me.  I like a lot of their songs and this one is a good one for warriors.

Poem:

“Scars”

My meditation turns to my scars.

I have many but only a few are visible to others.

Most I find are hidden, healed slashes on my soul

No less real, and no less perfect.

Reminders of foes fought, battles won and lost.

Reminders of the price of fidelity, and the pain of another’s treachery,

Reminders love gained at cost and also love lost.

Scars – my one proof that life has tried to destroy me, but I survived

My one proof that I am a warrior.

– The Rabyd Skald – Ed Raby, Sr.

Yeah, this poem is my latest. I think it needs no commentary as it will either resonate with you or it wont.

Meditation:

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Song Of Preparation: Trapt – Headstrong

Trapt put out this song a long time ago.   I like it in that it shows how a strong attitude can make you a fighter for what you believe in.

Text: Havamal 142

Then began I to thrive, and wisdom to get. I grew and well I was. Each word led me on to another word. Each deed to another deed.

Sermon:

When people ask me why one should have personal code, I tell them that no matter what your faith you need something that guides how you live.  When people ask me why I personally chose a warrior code as my personal code, I give them the old Japanese proverb – Better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war. For me the mindset of a warrior in this world simply carries more weight and is far more useful in all matters.

In Havamal 142 I think we see some of the mentality of the warrior.  It’s actually does not start with war or martial spirit but wisdom.  Knowing how to use what you know practically. The three-part progression of this passage:

  1. Gain wisdom
  2. Let wisdom change your words
  3. Let your words turn into deeds

Gaining wisdom is not easy, so the start of this train of thought does not start with a task that is simple.  Wisdom is often found in learning from experience and sometimes those experiences are painful.  Wisdom also can be costly to gain and may require us to sacrifice something.  The story of Odin giving up his eye to gain insight has particular moral application here.  Wisdom is found in our experiences, the experiences of others and simply at times learning and seeking it out.

Letting this wisdom change our words is particularly powerful.  My wife and I have been reading How Words can Change Your Brain and I have to say it shows one great truth that our self talk can change our attitude and it is important that the wisdom we learn should change what we say and how we say it.  This changes our thinking.

Our thinking eventually will go over to actions. It is not enough in my opinion to simply know the right thing to do and think on it.  You must act. This is the great dividing line between being a gardener in a war and a warrior in a garden.  Those who act on their wisdom and words become warriors.

Closing Song: Survivor – Eye of the Tiger

I remember when the movie Rocky came out and I heard this song for the first time.  I knew then even as a kid that it would become an anthem for fighters.  Still is.

Be Strong and Fight On!

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

Skaal!!!

A Skald Life – Foundational Virtues – Natural Goal Development

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Moon’s Day

The thing about these journal posts is that they get changed a lot and this week the real challenge has been the idea of goals and where they come from.  I realized this weekend that last week I didn’t really set nine goals so much as I drew out nine principles with which to evaluate my goals each week as far as making sure I am growing as a person in the area of character with my goals. So I am changing the nine goals I set last week into nine principles – one attached to each virtue.

Principles List: (edited)

  1. Be positive about my future.
  2. Act with courage at the right time.
  3. Pursue knowledge, wisdom and truth at all times.
  4. Work to be self-reliant in all things.
  5. Work with enjoyment of work itself.
  6. Be ready to be hospitable to those who truly need it.
  7. Apply discipline to every aspect of life that it can be applied.
  8. Keep getting up after every defeat or failure.
  9. Be loyal to those who have been loyal to me.

The problem is when it comes to goals I think they definitely need to be specific and not so general.  I have also attached each goal in the past to a role but there are some roles that always require more goals than others and this creates imbalance.  I am think that my goals will flow naturally from my meditations on these principles and my interests.  Whether a goal is being actively worked toward I think those same meditations on the NNV will provide a positive or negative feedback on that.

I am now in meditation on this whole process and trying to see what natural goals develop out of it. I know for instance I need to keep up my health and that requires certain routines every day and during the week.  I already have some goals that need to be finished first such as graduate from college and then start a new career.  There is also some stuff I still want to do.

For me if I can add it to my morning routine, daily or weekly routines, that makes sure I work on it. but there is only so much time and other resources for all that.  There are also obligations to consider.  I think my goals will involve building and maintain the proper routines.  It will also involve a short list of long-term goals and probably a bucket list.  The issue right now is to meditate on the NNV and the principles I created last week and see what goals come out of that.

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 – Be positive about my future

There are things that happen that challenge my honor.  I strive to be noble of being despite the fact some do not see me as noble of being anymore. But the question of honor is never if others recognize your nobility of being, only yourself. If you are being honorable at the time, your past is irrelevant, it is just hard to get that emotionally for me at times.

Part of being positive about my future that has been a challenge is that there are still a lot of unknowns about the future with me. I try to look at things in the future positively, but I am not sure what exactly I am looking at. Hopefully things will be come clearer in the coming months.

Courage:

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

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

Right now I am trying to find out what the right path might be. Once I know it more specifically it will be time to walk it with courage.

There is also a question of timing.  Some things are still in process.  Once those are finished then acting with courage at the right time will be easier because I will know the right time.

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 – Pursue knowledge, wisdom and truth at all times.

I have actually found myself looking at the second part of this virtue.  “Better to not say anything’.  I have found a wisdom in silence with people who want to believe falsehoods. It simple allows my life to be less complicated in a way.  It’s also good at keeping me humble about things. I have simple realized that some people will not accept the truth or don’t want to because they are motivated to hold onto a lie.  No amount of my speaking the truth with change that, so better to let them rant and rave and go on with my journey through life.

If there has been a great shot in the arm to my motivation to study in school it has been the principle attached to this virtue.  I am reading again for the joy of learning and that is a good thing.  I am looking at knowledge and wisdom as a way to find the truth and it drives me.  I must say of all the things I love right now it’s this virtue and its principle.

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

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues – Starting with the Nine Noble Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

NNV 001

My wife and I have been reading a book together as part of our own efforts to work on our relationship.  The book is Words Can Change Your Brain by Newberg and Andrew.  In it the authors make the observation that one of the questions we should be asking about and that is: “What is my greatest virtue?”  I found it interesting personally as I have been looking at the issues of what makes a virtue important without faith in a religion?  For me the Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru (NNV) have become my code and part of my philosophy of life. I meditate on them often and so what the book was teaching and what I as doing meshed quickly.  It also changed my thinking regarding goals and how to set them.

I have often set my goals based on what roles I wanted to achieve. I guess now see this a kind of chasing titles. I am not sure this is what I want for my life as often when a title is achieved ‘then what’? It becomes a constant struggle to redefine goals.  Not that I don’t want to achieve tangible results but it seems that virtue would drive a person far more than roles as they have to be worked on every day to either grow them or maintain them.  Once a goal is achieved with virtues as their guide, I can see how one then could set new goals far more quickly because the virtue would provide sight and insight into what is next.  The next goal becomes much more self evident when you use virtue instead of roles as your guide to setting them in my current thinking.

So I have dropped my roles as being my guide to setting my goals or even combining virtues with goals like I did recently. What I want now is nine goals set by the NNV. It’s not that my roles won’t come into the discussion but now each virtue can in a sense touch all of the things I am rather than just one thing.

My foundational virtues of the nine are Honor, Courage and Truth.  They are foundational in my mind because they touch all aspects of life.  They guide me in all decisions.  This includes the goals I set.  I am going to take each virtue every week and reflect on it for that week and comment on progress toward a goal for that virtue which I will set here in this first few posts of A Skald’s Life. Let’s begin.

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”

I suppose Honor is more popularly defined as that feeling of self-worth.  I find honor to be an internal thing and the hardest virtue of them all.  Mostly I look at it as the ability to look in the mirror and be proud of who you are, but also maintain humility in the fact you can recognize honor in others.  In my life the first part is a struggle.  I have made some very bad decisions this year and I am a man trying to get back on his feet as far as humble pride in himself.

If there is a goal here it is to look at my life more positively.  To see that there is still much I can do that is right and that this can lead me back to a feeling like I have value to myself and that others value me as well.  Honor is the hardest but also the most necessary of the virtues.

Courage:

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

The real trick of this virtue is first knowing what the right thing to do is and then secondly doing it.  I have been accused of being a coward at times but mostly I look at it as having the courage to walk away from a bad situation too.  I do question this at times but in truth an enemy rarely respects your courage even when you show it.  Courage is for conflicts and they are sometimes good things if faced bravely.  That said some conflicts cannot be won and you must have the courage with yourself to face that as well. It takes courage sometimes to realize if a battle cannot be won, then the brave thing to do is not fight it. Live to fight another day when the odds are more in your favor.  Timing.  Knowing when to be courageous is also important.

My goal here is pretty simple:  When I know the right thing to do, I do it.  Despite what I said above, my problem is to over think things instead of acting on my first instincts as to what is right.  Once you know the right thing to do and when to do it, then act.  That’s the goal here for me.

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.”

People have called me a liar too. I would say; however, I have probably been more committed to this virtue than I ever was as a Christian.  The problem with being a minister is you find yourself telling lies very quickly if you want to protect your reputation as well as the reputation of those under your care. Facing the truth is not something church people actually do very well.  Particularly when comparing themselves to the ethical standards of Scriptures.  Now, I don’t really have any other issue other than discovering what is true.  People may not accept this from me, but I have been painfully truthful far more since I gave up my faith than when I was in it. My goal here is to continue to improve and face the truth even about the most difficult things – especially myself.

My goal is here is to be the one who pursues truth and stands with it regardless of where it might take him.  This is my pilgrimage – knowledge, wisdom and truth – finding them and living by them,

Summary:

The real problem with these goals is that they are hard to measure and are not specific.  That is however why they are also foundational as they really reflect attitudes and states of character I want to have at all times.  The other virtues will probably create more specific and measurable goals but these three are about every thought, feeling and decision.

Goal List:

  1. Be positive about my future
  2. Act with courage at the right time
  3. Pursue knowledge, wisdom and truth at all times

Until the Business Virtues,

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

Skaal!!!