Expect Nothing???

Today is one of those days; a day that you remember something you were told when younger that has proven to be absolute bull pucky.  It sounded good when the person said it, like some pearl of wisdom was dropped on you, a cosmic secret.  But no, it's not any of these things.  Age and experience proved that rusty nail to be just plain stupid.  Here is the juicy gem that I was told ... When you don't expect nothing you will never be disappointed when you get nothing.  Sounds good but life and success does not work that way.  

When you start a project, a business, or a family you expect to succeed.  You expect your project to be not just be done but well done. You certainly do not expect your business to fail; you expect success.  And you do not expect your spouse to be unfaithful or your children professional crackheads.  If your heart still beats in your chest, you expect the opposite.  

Let this crusty old fart reword the above bull pucky:  You can expect success in life with a well rounded, well worked plan and should expect nothing less. If you fall short, pull up your socks and keep trying.  The man who handed on that gem to me got exactly what he expected.  

Havamal verse 58 - The man who spends his day in bed gains nothing; a man must work hard to  make his dream a reality.*

Havamal verse 60 - Just like a man who must plan how much wood he needs to tend his fire during the winter, so too must he plan for all things.*   

*Havamal quotes from ... The View - One Man's Living Asatru With Help From The Havamal and The View - Act II.  

                                                 Copyright Terry Unger @2016

New Book

What is offered below for your reading enjoyment is a snippet from a short story that will appear in my new book set for publication on or before 11/1/2016.  

The crisp autumn air that filled Tarr's* lungs did little to cool his mood.  That damned old man, Tarr silently fumed.  The old man that frosted Tarr's composure was his chieftain, Vulferam who had removed him from his leadership of the tribe's Mannerbunde.**  Maybe, Tarr thought, I said something offensive during Winter Nights.  Whatever the reason, being stripped of Mannerbunde leadership and put in charge of Yuletide preparations, Tarr felt, was grossly demeaning to a warrior.  He wanted to know what he did wrong to deserve this obvious humility and wished that he was a puss filled pimple on Wodan's ass so the High One could squeeze him and put an end to his misery...... in peace, the real power resided in Vulferam.  And as chieftain, Vulferam was the conduit to the Gods for the tribe's luck and prosperity.  If Vulferam asked you to do this or that, you complied; it was in the tribe's best interest that you did.  No one wanted to be blamed for the tribe's sudden lack of luck and prosperity; a person's neck could be stretched before the chieftains....... 

*Tarr - a character I created in my short book, Three Tall Tales.  The book introduces Tarr with his various talents, his fighting and leadership during the 30 year Saxon Wars, and his last days leading up to his death.  This short story can be thought of as a "prequel."  

**Mannerbunde - a group of young men who were the warriors of the tribe.  

                                                  Copyright @2016 Terry Unger

The Yellowing of Fact

The title of this post could have been, The Yellowing of Truth but since we humans process what we receive through our five senses, Truth becomes a matter of perception.  And it does not take much to alter this perception; how the media and other players do this is not new.  There was a time in the USA when Yellow Journalism was a big deal.  

During the 1890's William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were the media giants, and their medium was the newspaper.  Both of these fellows owned newspapers on the east and west coasts.  The competition to sell newspapers  was fierce; Hearst and Pulitzer had no problem being dicey with the facts - exaggerations and sensationalism left little or no room for the facts.  The more something could be puffed up beyond reason, the more newspapers both sold.  And during this "puffing up," MUS (made up shit) appeared, that could be dismissed later.  This should sound familiar.  

First we had radio and then television comes along and revolutionizes how information is gathered and then disseminated to the public.  Added to this is the Internet.  Someone once said, What is Truth?  In our current arena truth is very light on facts.  Instead of the honest rendering of the facts, we have two sides that  tell us their version of Truth.  

One side goes to the right while the other races to the left.  What the public gets is distortion of what really matters - the facts.  The public is treated to exaggerations, sensationalism, and MUS.  These guys (networks, etc.) are not selling newspapers.  They are pushing for viewer ratings and making money for their advertisers; the better the ratings, the more the $$$ for both.  Hearst and Pulitzer would be envious.  But something just came to light that needs a good look-see.  

Within the last several hours (hours before this essay was posted), a senior White House staffer made a serious personal boast:  according to this individual, he was responsible for "creating an echo chamber" in which he used the media to collect enough public and legislative positive sentiment to push through the Iranian Deal.  

First, when you are a presidential staffer, you serve at the will of the President.  Laying personal claim to anything should not just get you a presidential drubbing, but an immediate dismissal from presidential service.  But if you are a real narcissist or psychopath, none of this bothers you.  So why is this important?  

It is a perfect example of how media can be manipulated to curry the required public opinion.  The public needs to know the facts to make a proper response to anything that would require its response. The Yellowing of Fact and Yellow Journalism are alive and well. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Its been almost two years since this piece posted.   Both The Left and The Right have their trolls, Internet and otherwise ,hell bent on telling you what to think, feel, and believe.   

                                                 
                                   Copyright 2016/2018 Terry Unger All Rights Reserved   

    

Is It the End?

The 1st Man said, "I dread the day that I die."  

The 2nd Man said, "Yes, that day will come.  But how many days do you have to live?"  

Which one are you?  The 1st or 2nd Man?  The 2nd Man has a life and world accepting view; the 1st does not.  The 2nd Man knows that his date with death will come, but prefers to use his "days" productively.  He is focused on "now."  He does not concern himself with some pie-in-the-sky promise of an afterlife.  The 2nd Man wants to life a full and productive life.  Are you the 1st Man or the 2nd Man?  

Havamal, verse 70 - It is far better to be alive than dead.  While living you can enjoy family, friends, and wealth.  And opportunities still present themselves for all sorts of gain.  A dead man enjoys nothing. *  

Havamal, verse 76 - Everyone dies and so will you.  What continues is your good name and reputation. *

Havamal, verse 77 - Everyone dies and so will you.  What goes on is how you will be judged by others based on your reputation. *

* The above Havamal quotes taken from The View - One Man's Living Asatru With Help From The Havamal and The View - Act II by Terry Unger.  Both fine books can be found on Amazon/books.  

                                                    Copyright @2016 Terry Unger 

Living the High Life

In the western world, particularly in the USA, people have great opportunities; the United States Constitution does not guarantee a person's happiness, just the pursuit of it.  In the USA, we are free to make mistakes, fall on our faces, and pick ourselves up to try again and again to grab onto our gold ring.  This takes guts and what I refer to as the want to.  Without the want to, no amount of freedom can help you.  

A person can look at personal failure as the end of the world or a learning experience.  Personally, I prefer the learning experience; it is a matter of perspective.  If you have a negative outlook going into a project you may just think it is the end of your dreams when your attempt fails.  But then, you could have had a positive attitude going in but allowed the clouds of doom envelope you when your initial effort falls flat.  Maybe it's more than attitude.  Maybe it is the perspective.

A perspective that turns on worldview.  A perspective that is world rejecting (birthed from monotheistic salvation doctrine - to hell with this life, paradise awaits for those who "believe")  can cut into a person's want to.   After a few generations, it may have become, for many, a fallback position.  It can blunt a person's sense of want to, a desire for success, and a strong will to not just survive but to thrive and live a robust and full life.  A change is needed.

If the change required is perspective based on worldview, then the current majority worldview, life, and world rejecting dependent on salvation doctrine should be replaced.  The fault of this negative worldview I believe lies squarely with Monotheism.  Over the generations, it has created a dependency on things that cannot be proven.  It has dulled its practitioners to expect little out of this life; it has damned near dissolved their want to.  But then, it has inspired some adherents to drive jet planes into buildings - because of the promises of some mythical paradise.  However, not all are true adherents.

There are those folks who, when it comes time to check the box pertaining to a religious following, they will check off that which they are familiar with - because that response is comfortable and it completes the form.  These folks have not been inside of their respective houses of worship in years.  Their attitude is different.  They have no problem putting aside salvation doctrine's vague promises to grab onto their gold rings; to be successful in this life and also be a great man or woman.  These people are fortunate but there was a time before Monotheism when its life and world-denying doctrines did not exist.

In pre-Christian northern Europe, people did not reject life and the world; they embraced it.  All of life was accepted.  All of life was good as well as any personal success.  After centuries, Christianity has yet to completely obliterate this life and world accepting worldview of the past.  It has survived and has found new expressions.

Asatru is the modern world's reconstructed view of this ancient folkway.  The numbers of adherents are growing; people have found and are finding the freedom to be everything they can be.  People are rediscovering their connection not just with nature, the world around them, but also with divinity, at levels they never knew or thought possible.  They are discovering their true place within the cosmos and they love it.  It will take generations to be rid of the negative effects that Monotheism has wrought.  But don't let that stop you.  Come and join the march for freedom and progress.  Live the High Life.

                                                        Copyright @2016 Terry Unger