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Monday, June 5, 2017

Thor Goes Fishing




It can be said that offering prayer is a rather puerile attempt to deal with real situations.  Also, it can be said that modern people who say they "will pray for you" offer a puerile attempt to make the afflicted person feel better while at the same time giving the speaker of such a sense that they did something - without getting personally involved.  Prayer also gives those who offer it a sense of personal divine connection and a false sense of self-importance.  But prayer will not stop the barbarians at the gates (see my post 5/10/2017 - Barbarians at the Gates).  The God Thor, protector of Midgard, shows us that there are times when hard men are necessary.  

The Lore tells us of a time when Thor went fishing with the giant, Hymir.  The giant did not and would not provide Thor with bait.  So Thor killed Hymir's biggest Ox and cut off its head for bait - to catch and kill Jormungardr, the Midgard Serpent.  Hymir never cared much for Thor, and he was not thrilled with losing his biggest Ox.  Thor baits his hook and Jormungardr strikes.  

The battle is ferocious.  But Hymir the Giant is scared shitless.  Thor manages to pull the head of the Serpent into the boat.  As he reaches for his Hammer to kill Jormungardr, the scared shitless Hymir cuts the fishing line, freeing the beast.  Thor is furious at losing the opportunity to kill the enemy of Midgard and tosses Hymir overboard.  In a later tale within the Lore, Thor kills Hymir.  The lessons of this tale should be clear.  

First, do what is necessary to eliminate the threat.  Be wary of your allies.  And, stay focused on the cause.  Finally, know and understand that there will be loss - none of which  can be categorized as "acceptable" ( for the sake of this post, it matters not if you believe that Ragnarok is a "Christian edition" to the Lore.  That tale tells us Thor meets the Serpent Jormungardr for the third time.  Thor kills the beast.  After taking nine steps backward, he falls dead from the serpent's poison).   

When it's finally over, do not offer up prayers.  Raise horns and praise to the fallen who brought down the Serpent.  

                                                     Copyright @2017 Terry Unger 





  

Saturday, June 3, 2017

What Are You Thinking?



Life is not easy; it is not supposed to be.  Regardless of current station in life, we are faced with varying degrees of frustration, torment, and stress.  And, the poor man may suffer less, depending on his point of view than his Daddy Big Bucks neighbor.  This is, of course, relative to the individual - his wyrd.  But what do you think about when you are pressed and stressed?  Are you totally consumed by what is pressing on your heart and mind?  Do you get caught up in the peripherals of the problem or do you become overwhelmed by it?  Or does the apparent weight of the problem leave you paralyzed?  Our Lore may hold some answers.  

All Father Odin hung from Yggdrasil for nine days to gather the runes and their wisdom.  The Lore mentions All Father was irritated that, despite his hunger and thirst, no one was there/available/or cared to give him something to eat and drink.  Did other things disturb him while hanging from Yggdrasil?  We do not know - the Lore mentions little.  Could there have been other things?  The short answer:  if we place a man in that situation, hanging up-side-down from a tree, than yes - there would be many.  But what the Gods feel or need our finite mind cannot grasp.  Especially when their quest is for knowledge.  But this is what we do know.  Odin "hung in there" and completed his quest.  He surmounted his obstacle(s) by focusing on his goal.  He pushed through the frustration, torment, and stress to obtain the runes and their wisdom.  The same runes meant to be shared with us mortals.  

In this life we face problems.  The choice is to be overwhelmed by them or to surmount and grow in experience and wisdom from them.  Like Odin we must focus - focus on obtainment and victory. Then and only then do we succeed in solving our problems and crushing our demons.

                                                   Copyright @2017 Terry Unger

  

In Honor of Arminius

To honor this hero, I offer snippets from my new book, Finding Polaris ...            Introduction, Part One - The Age of Arminius ...