Family is something that not just a few words can describe. It is much more. It is the building block of clan, tribe, and the greater social structure, nation. A career, just another word for job, should not come before family. But oftentimes, it does. Possessions, and the accumulation thereof, should not come before family. But oftentimes, it does. Filling up the house with stuff to impress the neighborhood should never be that important. Everything just said about family is just as true and important for spouse. A smart phone cannot hold you in the dead of night and make you feel special or secure.
Our children learn from other sources than just books. They learn from observing us. Our moods and attitudes, words and deeds, are visible to them. Like sponges, they suck it all up. It is the ebb and flow, the orlog and wyrd of life. It is not just our DNA that we pass on to them. It is our values - what we think is important in this life. If we put career and stuff ahead of family and spouse they will learn that from us. And they may do the same as adults. The day of employer - employee loyalty are long gone. This is truth. Family is forever. A spouse should last as long. Possessions quickly become obsolete. Do not let your family and spouse do the same.
Havamal verse 40 - Don't save so much money that you don't use any of it. You'll die, after all, and it might not go to the people you like. The world ain't aimin' to please you.*
Havamal verse 72 - It's good to have a son, or someone you can call that; there ain't too many men remembered 'cept those as left family behind*
Havamal verse 78 - I saw a rich man's sons, they had a good many o' head of cattle. Now they're beggars in the street. Wealth's nothin' to count on; it'll leave you as soon as it finds you.*
* Havamal verses from Jackson Crawford's The Cowboy Havamal found in his translation of the Poetic Edda copyright 2015 Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
The Rest, Copyright 2018 Terry Unger
