Writing

The Grey Wayfarer – Upgraded

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day!!!

In some ways this is a test post, but in truth, I am also going to announce a few things that I hope will work. For roughly a half a year now I have wrestled with two things concerning this blog: 1) That someone banned it from Facebook for being ‘abusive’ and 2) What to do about it? My hope is that I have solved the problem.

Not that Facebook has contacted me or anything about it but rather I have tried ot contact them about it for quite some time with no results. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and change the URL. You will still see when you arive here that it is still thegreywayfarer.wordpress.com but I decided ot purchase the domain name so it is simply thegreywayfarer.com now. Hopefully I can post to Facebook again with this address, and to allow me further advantages, I have also purchased the personal plan here on WordPress so I will be able ot do some other thigns as well.

Now before all you joniour detectives go running about there are a few suspects I already have in mind and I can’t do anything about it. The problem with Facebook pages is that you really can’t block someone specifically from following you or reporting you. Why, if they didn’t like what i was writing didin;t they just unfollow? Well. some of my haters are probably dedicated to making my life as hard as possible. The other couple suspects are simply people personally invovled with me in the past and may now just not want ot deal with it at all. Possible a person form my former church but I am not going to write about that much at all as my new pulpit is The Rabyd Atheist my YouTube Channel. In large part, I have put them and their self-rightous nonsense behind me. Regardless, this blog is my baby and I am not going to go down without a fight.

That said I am going to reduce what I talk about here. I want to coninue to use it as personal journal of sorts regarding my goals and vision for my life. I also want ot use it to continue to use it to discuss the Nine Noble Virtues and perhaps do a little fiction writing to keep my creative juices flowing. I am not so much interested in using this as a platform for my personal life anymore, so much as keeping focused and engaging in a some creativity. It should be noted that obsticles to my goal will still be discussed and that includes my long running battle with The Grey or as it is more commonly known – depression.

Hopefully this post goes through to Facebook and problem solved unless that person also decided to get this one blocked as well. To that person, why don’t you just stop following the page and go on with your life? I am trying my best to do so and so should you.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Atheist Activism, Writing and Financial Peace” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment
See the source image

Happy Mani’s Day!

Most of the rest of my vision points have a lot to do with maintaining Youtube Channel, Writing for Publication and Financial Peace.

YouTube:

My YouTube channel – The Rabyd Atheist – has becoem my new pulpit. I am commited to Atheist activism and this is one avenue. Part of my vision points is to be a regular contributer to FFRF and The Clergy Project as well becasue they have done so much for me.

Writing:

My basical goal is to write boook for publicaiton and thus the 1000 words per day. This blog is more of a personal tool to keep me focused but it is a part practicing my craft as a wordsmith.

Financial:

20 years in a career that provided nothing for retirement would e a scary prospect for many and it is for me as well. The plan is simple to say. 1) Get out of debt, 2) Buy a small house with garage and 3 ) Invest as much as possible. I need a new career mostly for this reason.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Rest Day Routine” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sif’s Day!

Rest is part of the program. I learned this from weightlifting and that is the exercise breaks you down. It’s nutrition and rest that allows your body to rebuild itself more in ot the image you are looking for. Rest is a necessary element.

That said, it should be noted that some things like the Morning Routine don’t change regardless of Work or Rest Days. Also some things can only be done on rest days because of schedule. Some vision points require an open day to get progress done.

Vision Points:

Vision Point : Maintain my YouTube Channel with at least two videos uploaded a week and reach the goal of 100 subscribers.

Vision Point:  Start a New Career by January 2021

Vision Point: Write a Book for Publication by December 31, 2021.

Vision Point: Be Debt Free by December 31, 2022.

Vision Point:: To write 1000 words per day during 2021.

Vision Point: Start regular significant donations to The Clergy Project and FFRF.

Vision Point: To develop and follow a results-focused nutritional plan that results in fat loss, muscle gain or maintenance, and a lower A1c with the result of a body fat percentage of 8% or lower and a normal A1c by December 31, 2021.

Vision Point: Impliment a Progam of Exercice that involves regular Weight Training and Walking.

Vision Point: Find a way to get the whole family together for a few days in. Christmas or some other time in 2021.

Some of these vision points require time in larger blocks so a rest day is a good time to do them. But I do want to rest and take some time to enjoy life on rest days

Rest Day Routine: 

  1. Morning Routine
  2. Walking – 1 hour
  3. Cleaning – 1 hour
  4. Writing – 1000 words
  5. Personal Business
  6. Make to Do list for next day.

There area few vision points to tackle because their nature is such they don’t fall easily into routine but are either lifestyle issues or setting up a long term plan and executing it on a daily basis when the opportunity arises. I will be going over these over the next two days.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Changes and the Facebook Block” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day!

As you have probably guessed I am not writing every day. Mostly, I am still trying to get a sense of what I am trying to do at this point with this blog. Some changes I am thinking about:

  1. My Journal Posts need to be shorter so I will be breaking them down to dealing with a single virtue each. The Nine Noble Virtues and the Three Higher Virtues make 12 total and so three virtues a week adds up to four weeks.
  2. The nature of the thise journal posts will also change as I will be dealing with a single virtue alone. I am eliminating the idea of a principle as unnecessary baggage. I also am combining the notion of a goal and a bucket list item with each virtue as well. I am going to call these Vision Points instead . They still are goals / bucket list type things. The difference by doing this I will be eliminating about 6 things to focus un and reducing the list to twelve. A much more managable list. As I age, the idea that my irons in the fire need to be very specific becomes more important.
  3. Other posts will be new in many ways and I am still in the creative process of those. I am going to do some fiction writing in all that but also make the others simpler as well.
  4. The main issue is no post (other than my fiction posts) should be longer than 500 words.
  5. I am probably going to archive all the other pages under the page heading Archives. Time for a fresh page start with a new file cabnebt so to speak so don;t be allarmed if all the pages at the top ‘disappear’. The aill simply be all under the title “Archives’. There will be some exceptions most notably “The Rabyd Skald’ posts.

I want to take a moment to address those of you that may have followed me on Facebook. I recently discoverd this blog cannot post to Facebook because someone reported it as abusive. I don’t how and no explaination was given to me. I wasn’t even made aware until I tried to share my last post to Facebook and it wouldn’t let me. I am going to explore some options. It might be beneficial for my author page to go private so I can post these there again. I am not sure.

In any case, I apologize to those of you that now have to subscribe via email or directly through WordPress now to follow me.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Undying” – Skald Tales and Poems – Poem

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day! 

“Undying” – by Edward W. Raby, Sr. May 3-4, 2020

My love for you never dies

But that is not as good as it seems.

It drains me as it is not returned

Like a vampire’s kiss,

Thrilling and draining.

I give and get nothing.

You drain the blood of my love

From within it bleeds into you

But you are indifferent

Like a bored eternal vampire

you have moved on,

but I remain the one that is drained.

I miss what your love did for me,

but I hate what it does to me

If only it would die.

Perhaps I could slay this love

With a wooden stake peirce it forever

But I cannot – for it is undying.

Author’s Note’s

I am only going to note here that this is the first poem I have written in a while and I truly feel this. Perhaps it is no the greatest, but it is an expression of a part of my heart.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Changes and The New Lineup” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

I have been struggling during my hiatus with direction – my life I feel is about two thirds on track, there is really only one big thing there and it’s not something to write about as it is very personal.  The other thing is how I spend my time and this blog.  While important to me, it does drain some of my time and I do need to justify it or need to be more efficient with the time spent on it.  My priorites need ot shift and if all goes well, my life will be dramatically different come September.

To do this I need time to work on a certification I need, and a lot of time is required for that and I need for this blog to be streamlined and a little more brief with its posts so I am not spending a lot of time on them.  Two things then need to happen with The Grey Wayfarer: 1. The Lineup needs to change so their are less posts. 2. The nature of the posts needs to be trimmed down and streamlined to allow ease of writing.

There is also a want – I want ot start writing creatively as this provides the best therapy for my troubled mind. It also can be time consuming. But not when I am inspired so creative posts need to have an optional nature to them.  With this want is another want which is to discovery of my muse again – finding the inspiraiton I need ot write creatively, regularly.

The New Line Up:

  1. Mani’s Day – Skald Tales and Poems – I am going to start writing a poem or short story for every Mani’s Day.  Mostly for a creative break each week.  The stories will run a full gambit of genres.
  2. Odin’s Day – Of Wolves and Ravens (Odin’s Eye) – Taking a topic from my philosophy rotation and discussing it.
  3. Frigg and Freya’s Day – Freya’s Chambers – I will continue my discussions of sex, sexuality and nudity in art every Freya’s Day but I will basically be discussing what I want to discuss each week.  I will continue the Pinup of the week feature with a short discussion of each one and why it either inspired or resonated with me.

Yes, That’s it.  I have removed the journal posts for the time being, becasue I am going to keep my personal life more private for a bit as I am playing things close to the vest these days.  I have two focuses. 1. To finish my certification so I can start my new career and starting my new career.

For those of you who might miss The Pagan Pulpit I would recomend my YouTube Channel The Rabyd Atheist, then you can actually hear me speak twice a week on various topics. The Rabyd Skald and The Grey and The Wayfarer will appear as needed.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Taking a Hiatus” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day!

I’m on a temporary hiatus from the writing on this blog until May 3rd. After breaking the steak of consecutive posts, I realize that writing here had become a burden rather than a joy and that means I need to stop and recenter a bit.  I will be back on May 3rd. Mostly I need to get my life in order a bit and regroup.

COVID-19 is making the country nuts and this, of course, makes it harder for me as I feel everyone’s fears and anxiety.  I could literally make every single day right now a Grey and the Wayfarer post but that would be redundant and boring.

Stay safe everyone and I will be back May 3rd.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“The End of a Streak” – A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / 3 Comments

Happy Tyr’s Day

Journal Entry:

My final count was 560 days of blogging at least one post a day and that came to an end yesterday as I made the willful decision to end it that day.  The problem is twofold: 1) I need a little more time to do something I need to do and 2) the steak was becoming more of a slavery than a joy. Monkey off my back, I am free to pursue this blog as I see fit again.

I will continue to write regularly but only about five posts a  week.  I will be doing the following order.

Week A – Of Wolves and Ravens (Mani’s Day) and Freya’s Chamber’s (Frigg and Freya’s Day)

Week B – Dark ShieldMaiden (Odin’s Day) and The Pagan Pulpit (Sol’s Day)

Repeat.

This week is me engaged in some final thoughts before plunging in and finalizing the bigger picture regarding each virtue.

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 my YouTube Channel with at least two videos uploaded a week.

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

Solid Here – trying to build my YouTube Channel and keeping my big hike in view.

Courage:

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

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

Goal: Cross two things off my bucket list by March 31st, 2021.

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

Two Bucket list items need to go this year. I think it can be done easily enough.

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 Book by March 31st, 2021

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

I need to get a book written this year and start at some point reading a book for a week for a year but I think that might start later in this year say September when I truly put together my reading list.

Higher Virtue: Love:

I flipped a switch this week and I have gone full-on love me first and that was a bittersweet moment.  I know some people are not going to like what I am going to do in the long term – fuck em.

Morning Routine:

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

New and good.

I remain.

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

Skaal!!!

“Time Saving and Restructuring” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

I have been reassessing my time and how I spend it and I have made a decision to limit most of my social media interaction in order to get something done that needs to have time spent on it and move forward with my life. This means that probably very soon my blogging everyday streak will come to an end.  I simply have limited time to get things done and need some more time and I do spend about an hour a day on this blog and that needs to be limited a little.

What will not change is my three journal posts a week on Tyr’s Day, Thor’s Day and Sif’s Day.  I need these to keep my life structured as much as possible.  But The Pagan Pulpit, Of Wolves and Ravens, My New Fiction series – Dark Shieldmaiden and Freya’s Chambers will be on rotation and will drop in one of the empty days when I complete one. I am going to try to complete two of these a week but no guarantees.  This is hopefully not permanent but jut until I have finished my other stuff.

I am also going to downsize my YouTube Channel to two videos a week for many of the same reasons.

I don’ know precisely when the streak will come to an end, just there will be a day when something is not ready and a post will not drop.  I am shifting my priorities and some things need to be done before this blog now. Not stopping just backing off a little.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

 

“Final Form -Business Virtues” – A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day! 

Journal Entry:

When it comes to business I want to leverage my recent success into further success.  I need to put my new degree to work, get writing more consistently. and find a way to start donating regularly to The Clergy Project.

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:  To find and engage a new career path that puts my new degree to work.

Bucket List: To be a published author of at least five books.

My routine needs to include a time to regularly study for my new certification. Other than that things ae the same.

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: To write 1000 words per day for a year.

Bucket List: Write A Novel and Get it Published.

.Writing 1000 words every day needs to be a habit.

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: To begin regular significant donations to The Clergy Project as a way of paying them back.

Bucket List: To own my own home.

It’s been almost two years since I stopped giving to the church and you know what this donating thing helps my heart a lot but I need to not be to imaginary characters anymore.  The Clergy Project has helped me a lot and it is time to pay it forward.

Higher Virtue – Justice:

I need to be focused on advancing myself this year to a good level of extra prosperity. Time to gain back what I lost being a minister for all those years.

Work Day Routine:

  1. Morning Routine
  2. Workout – Gym/Walking after work.
  3. Wife: Communication / Cuddle Time
  4. Reading – 1/7th of a book
  5. Blogging – Organize, revise, post for the next day.  Write a new post for two days out.
  6. Writing: 1000 words/day.
  7. Training – 2 hours.
  8. Personal Business: record financial transactions, savings plan actions, budgeting, appointments, job search, other actions, etc.
  9. Check Communications and Email after 4 pm but before 6 pm.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!