Goals

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!!!

A Skald’s Life – Self Virtues – Morning Routine

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Frigg and Freya’s Day –  I actually find this one the most interesting.  We have shrunk it down to Friday which is the spelling of Frigg but we say it Fry which reflects Freya.  

My to do list still has a few things on it.

  1. Morning Routine
  2. Daily Routine
  3. Weekly Routine
  4. Bucket List

I also have some planning to do regarding weightlifting and diet.  So we all know what I will be doing today and next week.

My morning routine is about doing the daily stuff that can be done right away every day and getting myself off to a positive start.  So it involves things that wake me up and get me thinking about the things I need to think about.

Morning Routine:

  1. Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) and Principles
  2. Review Goals
  3. Review Bucket List
  4. Meditate on One of the Virtues
  5. Full Body Stretch
  6. Breakfast
  7. Supplements and Medicines
  8. Shower and Personal Hygiene
  9. Get Dressed for the Day

I think most of these are self-explanatory.  A few notes:

My meditation is on one of the NNV.  The reason I do this is to ponder it a little more deeply and see if I am understanding the wisdom of it a little more fully.  If there is something noteworthy, I usually write it down.

My Full Body Stretch is an every morning thing and takes about 15 minutes.  I have discovered that as I get older this is helpful in having less joint stiffness and soreness the rest of the day.

My supplements are actually a short list.  I would probably do more supplements but they are expensive and I don’t have the extra money for them right now. Mostly it’s a multivitamin, fish oil for my eyes and a joint supplement.  My medications are diabetic stuff.  No insulin yet thankfully.

Oh, the last one is getting dressed for the day.  The nice thing about having my own place now is the privacy.  It allows me to dress or not dress as I feel.  Like my father, I am comfortable in my own skin as much as I am clothed.  I just don’t see much point in getting dressed until after I take my shower.

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.

I am starting to be harder on myself in the right way.  I can do more and do better.  This is particularly true when it comes to school and my job.  I am definitely learning to be more disciplined in school.  Mostly I am still behind on reading.  Getting these routines more formalized is also helping things a bit in this area so it has been overall a good thing.

I am looking at all things in my life and the Morning routine is not a problem.  It’s the daily stuff I need to be doing better at.  I will talk more on this on Monday.  That’s why if I can put a thing in the morning routine I do it.  It pretty much makes sure it gets done. The Daily routines are often conditional on my daily schedule and that causes problems from time to time.

Perseverance:

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

Principle: Keep getting up after every defeat or failure.

I have had a recurring nightmare/dream that has caused me some trouble this week.  Mostly,  it involves people I used to know and care for gathering around me and mocking me and what I am trying to do.  I go to work and someone is standing nearby and yelling at me that I am worthless.  It finally culminates in me being surrounded by these people and they pick up rocks and stone me.  Right before I die, I wake up.

I put this under perseverance because dreams and nightmares like this one used to shake me but now I just kind of shrug them off.  They do trigger The Grey a little, and I have to fight through it, but thankfully my wife helps a lot with that.  Knowing she loves me when she could be a part of that crowd is a remarkable and special thing to me.

Fidelity: 

“Fidelity is the will to be loyal to one’s Gods and Goddesses, to one’s Folk, to one’s self, and loyalty to one’s friends was as valued as highly as loyalty to one’s family.”

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

My issue these days is not loyalty as far as if I am loyal.  My issue is what to be loyal to these days. I am loyal to my wife and family.  I know I have to prove that a lot after what has taken place, but I stand by them.  I work on being loyal to myself.  I am loyal to the friends I still have left.  Those that have turned their back on me – fine.  I let a lot of that go.  Less friends, less hassle.  Apparently their friendship didn’t include loyalty to me when I needed them the most. There are a few who have engaged in outright treachery against me.  Those?  Well, justice demands that if I ever get the chance to get justice, I will take it.  It’s not a vengeance thing, just balancing the scales if the opportunity presents itself.  Fidelity demands it.  I will remain patient and watchful.

It’s the faith thing in the gods/goddesses that is troublesome. I can loyal to the concepts of the NNV and the ideals of deism, humanism and even paganism as I define them.  I am still a seeker in that regard, so its hard to know what to be loyal to other than the principles.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues – Current Known Goals

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s Day (Woden is another name for Odin)

So, with my decision to let meditation on the Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) be a true guiding force to my goals and letting go of my notion of roles, what goals do I currently have?

  1. Strengthen Marriage – Given recent events my wife and I are spending time and even a little money to work on our marriage.
  2. Finish my Political Science Degree – I have one semester left and an Internship.  By the end of December I should have graduated with only my internship left.  My degree will be a BS in Political Science with minors in Economics and International Business.
  3. Advance Career – Once I have the degree I need to start a new career.  I am keeping my options open at this point.  It may even involve continuing education.
  4. Monitor and Control Finances – My wife and I being on our own means we now do this together.
  5. Write for my Blog  – 1 post per day average.
  6. Exercise – Weightlifting four times a week plus morning stretching every day.
  7. Follow a Solid Diet Plan – Paleo with intermittent fasting needs to be more and more a part of my life.
  8. Create and work a Bucket List.

My first step to achieving all that is to put things into morning, daily and weekly routines. So what I need is a list of things for the Morning routine, the Daily routine and the Weekly routine.  I need then to start going through these routines.

Part of this is going to be setting up plans too:  Having a budget me and my wife work out together, my weightlifting plan and my diet plan.  In addition, I need that bucket list.

Once school is over, I will be making some decision about continuing my education.  I also want to get back to walking after school.  Right now I am using the rather long walk from where I park to class four days a week for that.  After school is over, I will need a new plan.

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: Work to be self-reliant in all things.

My wife and I have actually achieved some measure of self-reliance at this point.  Food, clothing and shelter plus insurance and two vehicles. It basically allows the both of us to function in this society and we really don’t need any help.  We still get a little, but I am slowly trying to wean us both off of it.

There may be other things as time goes by that require provision.  Our goal is that we first look to ourselves to provide them or perhaps if we can’t, we don’t need them.  There is still a minimalist in me that is rather strong.

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.

What we are doing now as a couple is trying to be more efficient. That is getting more bang for the buck.  Basically we are budgeting and looking at how to make more money wherever we can.  It really is now about finding work we enjoy and is more lucrative.

In any case even though I am not working where I would ultimately like to be, I still am trying to enjoy work for its own sake. It makes what I am doing go smoother and without that dread most people have when they go to a job.

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.

I actually thought about picking up a hitch hiker the other day.  My heart goes out to wanderers in this world, so it was a draw to me.  But from a hospitality point of view, we can offer much more than a couple of months ago.

I want to still design my living room in this small apartment to handle a small group.  I am introverted but I don’t mind the occasional social gathering I can control.  It might be more cost-effective to serve something basic and tell everyone to bring their own booze.  We will see.

I remain –

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

Skaal!!!

“Of Wolves and Ravens” – Introduction

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

After my departure from Christianity, I began to study mythology.  Not so oddly, I landed on the Norse/Germanic Myths being my heritage in large part is from northern Europe.  From a faith stand point I don’t believe Odin is a true representation of the god that may actually exist anymore than I think the god of the Bible is a true representation of the god that actually exists.  I just like the imagery of the Norse myths.  They’re cool.

In this study of Norse mythology I came across the Wolves and Ravens of Odin.  The Wolves are named Geri and Freki and the Ravens are Huginn and Muninn.  Hunger, Fury, Thought and Memory respectfully.   Or one could put it Need, Want, Mind and Wisdom.  There is actually a pretty heavy debate on the meaning of these names but I liked the idea of them representing different philosophical ideas.  Out of this I began to think more about what my philosophy of life should be and an expression came to mind.  Mind you I don’t remember reading this anywhere, but I wrote it one day and it stuck in my head. “It’s OK to feed the Wolves but listen to the Ravens first.”

For me, the wolves have come to symbolize the driving motivations of life.  We need to have certain things – food. clothing and shelter as a base level of existence.  But we also want certain things.  These forces are largely matters of desire and they cause us to be motivated. The real problem is that if you feed the wolves without thought or wisdom to how you are feeding them and why, you can end up in a worse state than you were before.  We need to be motivated by what we need and want, but we need to pursue those things thoughtfully and wisely.

That where the Ravens come in.  Thought and Memory.  Reason/Knowledge on one hand and Experience/Wisdom. on the other. The imagery is the ravens perched on each shoulder telling us what we need to know and what wise course of action could be taken. Using this we guide our wolves productively.

“Of Wolves and Ravens” is about engaging this philosophy on various issues. I am thinking I will present a political issue, societal issue and a personal issue each week and examine them in the eyes of what we need, want, think and understand about them and hopefully draw some conclusions that will be both practical and sound in their philosophy.

Until next week, I remain,

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 – Self Virtues – Selfishness is Good for Everyone

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

NNV 003

“You’re being selfish” is an expression people might hear often when they are trying to do something for themselves.  When I look at the virtues of Discipline, Perseverance and Fidelity though its selfishness with a purpose.  All the virtues have an individual independence flavor to them but these three seem to be more inward focused with outward fruit if you understand me.  The Foundational Virtues are about all things.  The Business Virtues are outward focused with inward benefit but Self Virtues are inward focused with outward benefit.

Being focused on yourself is not necessarily selfish but if even if it is, as Ayn Rand points out in her book The Virtue of Selfishness, being selfish has a lot more benefits to others than you first realize. Those who accuse people of being selfish are often selfish themselves trying to get someone else to do something for them that benefits them.  A person who is self-reliant and focused on self does do one thing for everyone else – he is not a burden to them and their efforts.  By being self-focused, you at least don’t drag others down by being a leach on their prosperity or stealing people’s’ time, efforts or money.  There is a right kind of selfishness and it involves the Nine Noble Virtues and in particular Discipline, Perseverance and Fidelity.

These are Self Virtues in my mind because there is only one person who can engage them fully – self (aka me).  I am the only one who can be disciplined.  I am the only one who can get back up after every failure.  I am the one who must be faithful.  All these virtues depend on my decisions but the ones that have the most effect by realizing this is these three.

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.”

Discipline dots my life personally a lot.  I have my morning routine – get up, stretch, breakfast, pills and supplements, shower, shave, get dressed. I have my daily stuff – write a post, study, read, relax.  I have my marriage stuff – talk and cuddle for at least a half hour a day. Some discipline in my life isn’t every day – I go to work when I am scheduled, I go to class, I hit the gym to lift four days a week,  My diet is a discipline that hits me several times a day.  The point is discipline for me is pretty high and all of it is where I push myself a little further than the time before.  Without this continual being hard on myself and making myself do the right things, I become less.  With it I become more.

If I have a goal here it is to find all aspects of life where I can be disciplined, I do it.  If I ever get into a position of leadership again, discipline for whoever I am leading will be a center piece of my leadership.

Perseverance:

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

I do this pretty naturally but there are times I want to quit. Everyone has their limits but; in the end, you have to stand back up and keep moving forward.  It’s not how hard you can hit life, it how hard of a hit you can take from life, get back up and keep moving forward.  I am paraphrasing Rocky Balboa, but he is right.

Goal – Keep getting up after every failure or defeat.  It is that easy to say.

Fidelity: 

“Fidelity is the will to be loyal to one’s Gods and Goddesses, to one’s Folk, to one’s self, and loyalty to one’s friends was as valued as highly as loyalty to one’s family.”

Fidelity is a struggle for me.  But not where most people think.  My marriage – yes.  I am working on that.  Family – no, not so much as I am loyal to all my kids, grand kids and my mother.  Faith – that’s a deeper question of who I should be loyal to.  The virtue says I should stay loyal to them, which I agree, I just want to make sure I am loyal to something that is actually there.  Friends – Yep, the one’s I still have left absolutely.  My country – yeah, the country of The Constitution of the United States – yep.  The bastard nation that people in power have created these days – nope.

No, those are not the real struggle: the real problem is staying loyal to myself and what I need and want for myself.  It’s hard with all these other things pulling at you, but it if you don’t handle the stuff you want and need, and guide that by reason and wisdom you are going to burn yourself out to the point you won’t be able to be loyal to others.  I can speak from experience on this one.

You really choose what you are loyal to in the end,  But once you choose, you stick with it unless the other side shows itself disloyal.

Goal – Place my fidelity in things I trust because they have shown to be loyal to me. Yep, I believe fidelity is a response as well as an action.

Summary: 

I plan on part of my life being the good kind of selfish. I plan on disciplining myself to be a better person.  I will keep getting up and I will be loyal to that I have chosen to be loyal to as long as it shows loyalty to me.

The last line actually is pretty true for all the virtues.  I mean there is great discussion about whether one needs to be truthful with someone who has shown themselves to be deceptive.  I don’t think so.  I also don’t think I should have to show hospitality to those who have not shown me hospitality in return. Virtues are only truly valuable if they are freely given and received at the same time. Otherwise those who choose to live outside of virtue and live rather in the realm of dishonor do not have to be honored in return.

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
  4. Work to be self-reliant by finishing school and building my career
  5. Work with enjoyment of work itself both in school and my job.
  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 Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues – The Outward Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

NNV 002

The virtues of Self-Reliance, Industriousness and Hospitality tend to be more outward than inward in their focus.  That is not to say they don’t have an inward quality.  They are however virtues that focus on the business of living life and how in that business of living life we interact with others.  What ideals are were pursuing in our relationships with others and how we do the business of life with them.

The three virtues together create an attitude of hard work, independence but at the same time voluntary cooperation.  There is no coercion in the Business Virtues but a freedom to act as one sees fit to work, build a life for one self and help others if one wishes.  I have found this point to resonate with my libertarian philosophy much better than most other things.  It combines well with the idea of being free, independent and charitable by choice not by force.

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.”

From the standpoint of others, self-reliance means you are not drawing off others or leaching off others to meet your basic needs and wants.  You are taking care of these things yourself and are reliant on only yourself to meet your own needs.  This means you are not a burden to others.  You are meeting your needs.

My goal has been pretty simple here.  To be meeting my own needs for food clothing and shelter.  My wife and I have achieved that but it needs to be maintained and kept going.  The goal is independence (financial and otherwise) both now and in the future.  The next phase is a better job to do that.  The practical steps being to finish my degree and market it or once school is finished find another source of income in addition to my current job.

Industriousness:

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

I don’t have a problem working hard.  I also believe in working hard at working smart.  Being a cleaver worker is as important as being a hard worker.  Striving for efficiency as someone who has studied economics is also something I enjoy.  Work as a joyous activity in and of itself takes a little more effort on my part, but I have recently discovered that attitude makes the day go even quicker than just staying busy.  From an outward standpoint, being an industrious person commands respect in the real world.  Laziness is never respected, nor does it lead one to prosperity.

My goal here is to work hard and with enjoyment; specifically in finishing my degree and working my current job.  This kind of hearkens back to the Foundational virtues as far as the nature of the goal, but industriousness is kind of like that.  Finding and enjoying work is the key to prosperity.

Hospitality:

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

Being willing to share.  Not forced but willing.  This is actually a common virtue in many religions but as a Christian I must say I neglected it quite a bit.  Things have changed a bit since I last wrote on this.  Back then I could offer a Coke, a smile and a conversation.  Advice if asked for.  The issue is willingness to share in prosperity and I would say I have achieved a measure of that.  I can now offer to the truly desperate a shared meal if you wish, but make sure you are in need and after twenty years of dealing with freeloaders, I know the difference.

My goal here is to simply stand ready to help if I can and show hospitality if I can.  Nothing more or less.

Summary:

All said this is pretty simply to say.  Work hard to be self-sufficient, and enjoy what you do, work for greater prosperity and be ready to share willfully to those that need it.  All of this is voluntary as to force people to do any of this would violate all of these virtues.  You expect them not just in yourself but in others as well.

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
  4. Work to be self-reliant by finishing school and building my career
  5. Work with enjoyment of work itself both in school and my job.
  6. Be ready to be hospitable to those who truly need it.

Until the Self Virtues,

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

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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!!!