January 15, 2012

• Learning from Nordic mythology

  Learning from #Mythology

  Living life fully

  I am going to divert from the normal today by quoting two paragraphs that stood out for my in my book: "Taking up the runes" by D.L. Paxon. Both these carry some thoughts about courage and persistence in the face of peril that they demand us to stand still and ponder the implication of such a philosophy towards life. Certainly even tho it is from ancient pagan thought we can learn much from the old #wisdom. 

  "The Gods are mortal and subject to defeat not, surely, because the Northerns could not imagine immortality or permanent success, but because disaster is the final acid test of character. The valour of Odin and his peers, like the valour of human heroes, can only be proved by their fighting a losing battle, with defeat fordained and foreknown. (Phillpotts, 1928)"

  
  

  "If you are to have any energy left for living, you must identify those things that you can change, accept those things about which you can do nothing - learn how to tell the difference between them. Neither joy nor pain lasts forever,. You may not 'live happily ever after' but if you understand the necessity that drives you, it is possible to live triumphantly. Life might not be easy but it can, at the deepest level. be satisfying....motivating us to live our lives as an inspiration to those who follows."

  For me this is a very realistic approach to live life fully. To often positive thinking and other approaches (which has value if applied correctly) lead to people experiencing failure where they simply give up. In the above philosophy it is about fighting until the end irrespective the odds that are against us. This approach is very similar to the old Stoic approach of the Roman pagan philosophy: "Concern yourself only about what is in your control". The Nordic philosophy however goes a bit further by adding a spirit of defiance to the formula of life. Rather than just a fatalist acceptance, this philosophy of life took problems by the horns in an almost fearless manner. The end result of defeat versus success was almost irrelevant. What mattered was the fact that one stood firm as long as possible. Life was not what was achieved but rather about the attitude with which life was lived. A good life lived with full passion was for these ancients much more worth than what was achieved as a final outcome. There are rich and famous people who never lived life...yet there are beggars who fully lived life.  Often we take the easy way out when things get tough...some people even resort to suicide as a means of solving life's issues. 

  The Nordic pagan mind was wired differently. What is the impact of my attitude towards life on the society in which I live? If I give in, then those around me will give in. If I fight a good battle I inspire those around me to fight the good fight. Life for them was not just about individual glory but rather the impact their life had on the survival of the community. The stories of their gods and their heroes refrained this attitude over and over. To live life fully implies that we find the courage to face life even in the face of certain failure. To me there is a certain quality in this philosophy that needs to be recovered and brought back into the fold of modern day living...we face economic melt down, global warming, disasters and wars and within that context it is for each to live life fully. Living life takes courage and requires from us all to follow the examples we see in mythology and in the ancient stories of heroes...not to crumble in the face of disaster but to stand fearlessly to face what is coming. If not for ourselves, then as inspiration to all mortals that walk the world with us on this day in this world.  

  • 5:16 am
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