Faith Informed Lifestyle

The latest offering from the amazing duo over at Frithcast challenged their listeners to consider how our lifestyle informs our faith and how faith informs our lifestyle. If you have not heard of this podcast you have missed quite a lot. Suzanne Martin and Kate Coldwind are a pair of intelligent and articulate ladies who share their virtual campfire every fortnight with any who wish to join. Suzanne is a Heathen Gythia (in jeans) and Kate is a coffee powered Romanesque Druidry thing. They discuss things of a Heathen nature influenced by the Norse Pagan Myth-cycle.

In episode 73 they discuss lifestyle of a modern Heathen using the common (and popular) social media meme that shows an isolated cabin in the woods asking if you would give up something that seems be important to modern society (internet for example), or for a huge sum of money, to live in this cabin. The comparison comes in the form that most modern-day Heathens live a spiritually solitary life – like the cabin – isolated and dependent on their own resources. Which is also why a Heathen is likely to quite adamantly and emphatically like, share, retweet…whatever social media term you find yourself using for spreading memes. We are likely to desire the lifestyle portrayed by this scene…for reasons. Anyway, listen to the Frithcast. Bring your own marshmallows and cold knees, the ladies will provide warmth for your knees and great company and stories!

To consider how my lifestyle informs my faith, and/or how my faith informs my lifestyle, I believe I would have to define my faith. Something I have been trying to do for the better part of a decade. I don’t know that I truly have a faith. I see the gods and goddesses as more of a description of an idea; some concept that either was hard to explain or just was beyond human understanding. Some would call me a soft polytheist. I do believe that the gods and goddesses are real – all gods and goddesses not just the ones who are most familiar to me. I don’t believe that Odin is a physical being, but I do believe that the “spirit” of Odin can manifest in a physical way. So, I cannot say that I have a faith.

Yet I do believe that there is some type of metaphysical memory, or something like that, that exists in all of us. This could be the soul that many think of. I believe this is a form of energy. Energy, as far as we can understand physics at this point, can neither be created or destroyed, only transferred. What is has always been and always will be. Since energy can not be created there must exist a finite amount, therefore new life (new to this realm of existence) must be brought by some of that energy. This would give us our ancestral memory, or instincts; that which we know to be true but have no way to prove or justify. This is called hamingja and is part of ørlög and wyrd. I am not getting any further into these in this post – that is not the aim of this post.

Instead of a faith what I have is a strong curiosity for the culture, the society, of the ancient Nordic people. This I learn through many forms. The Sagas, the Eddas – Voluspa and Havamal primarily. I don’t see these as religious texts. Yes, they are stories about or by the gods and goddesses. The Havamal is the known as “Words from the High One” (this would be Odin). I do not believe that Odin wrote the words in the Havamal. I do believe that the concept of Odin inspired the words, but most likely no one person wrote the Havamal, but rather it is a collection of “You know what Odin would say” type of folk tales.

The concept that resonated the most with me from my studies of the ancient Nordic people is that of community. Family, clan, tribe…in that order…were important to these ancestors because their lives quite literally depended on being a member of their communities. Winter is harsh in the northern lands, and it is long (compared to what I know from Kansas and Arkansas). Having the support of a community was about survival during the hardest of times. Family was the first in order of importance. Kin – blood family and those who were accepted as blood family – came first. You were protected by and you protected your family. The clan came after. By clan I mean your family outside of the immediate kin. This might be your wife’s siblings or your brother’s in laws. Those connected to your family but not quite kin. Then the tribe. The tribe is all the kinships and clans who lived together – this would be the whole village perhaps.

The concept of Gebō – reciprocity – is part of this community. The belief that you have obligations to your community because your community has given to you. At the basic level you have obligations to your family for the life you have. The literal blood and being but also the material side – your Fehu (wealth). The community you live in offers many things that would be difficult, if not impossible, for you do on your own. The dangers of the wilds were a true threat in those ancient times. You were expected to become individually skilled so that you could best contribute to the community.

Honing a trade skill wasn’t meant to be for personal profit. It was meant to used to help your community grow, to be stronger and wealthier. The better you could make your family, the better your hamingja became to pass on. This is the concept that informs my lifestyle the most. I do what I do for my family. I go to work and have increased my personal worth to my employer to provide the best life for my family. This, in turn, helps to improve my community. The concept of reciprocity is being lost. We have many individuals who are improving their own lot but are not doing it for their community.

My next step is to become a teacher. Yes, as in public school teacher. I plan to apply for a Master of Science in Education (MSE) with a focus on guidance counseling in the fall. I feel this is a good next step in giving back to my community…whatever or wherever community that is.

Hospitality and Frith

Hospitality and Frith

For the month of July, I posted daily on the topic of the Nine Noble Virtue of Hospitality in the TAC regional Facebook group dedicated to the South-Central Region. Some of you may know, but most of you probably do not, that I am the regional Lead Ambassador for the South-Central Region of The Asatru Community. TAC is a non-profit, international organization that supports a grass root movement to build Heathen communities all over the globe. We are dedicated to educating on and promoting the religion and lifestyle based on the belief system of the ancient Germanic people. That is really a whole other post.

While making these posts, and my subsequent studies on the subject, I had a slight paradigm shift. I had once believed that Frith and Hospitality were interchangeable. I discovered how wrong I was. Though they are interrelated, they are not interchangeable. We all know what hospitality means, or at least the concept of hospitality. In the ancient times there was a different understanding of hospitality. The host had a responsibility to provide shelter, food and protection. Hotels were not a thing and inns were very rare and far apart. Travelers relied on the generosity of the homesteads they came upon for respite from the weather. The host was obligated to offer hospitality to these travelers.

This is a small look at the concept of hospitality. The concept revolves around the idea of responsibility of reciprocation. No person exists in a vacuum, everyone needs something from someone else. Community was the center of the life. Kin, Kindred (extended family), and tribe – in that order – was very important. Community, in this use, refers to all three segments of life. An individual is part of the community of Kinship (family – blood and chosen), the Kinship is part of the community of Kindred, and the tribe was a community of Kindreds joined together for the purpose of survival. Individualism was also important because individuals who were encouraged to do their best in what they did were better for the community, they made the community stronger. Everyone did their part, the concepts we know today of right and wrong are based on that idea of community. Right, or good, meant to do what was best for the community. Wrong, or evil, was that which harmed the community. This is where reciprocity comes in. Everyone owed the community a debt to what was right; what was good.

Frith is the natural result of a community in which all the members understand their responsibility of reciprocity. Many believe that Frith is synonymous with peace but that is a very small part of what Frith is. True Frith is only possible between people who are connected, who have a strong connection. I believe this can be formed online if both people are honest, but typically it is only possible when the people are bonded. The concept of Frith revolves in the idea of Inner Yard (Innagarð) and Outer Yard (Utangarð).

Your Inner Yard are those closest to you. Eric Sjerven describes this in three segments. Think of a homestead. In the center is the house, those who live in that house with you are your closest, most intimate inner yard. These are the people that you would drop anything, get out of bed and drive across the country to help them when they call. This is your Kin. Just outside of the house, on the porch or deck – maybe in the mother-in-law house out back – is your Kindred. Those who will help in most cases, but not at the expense of your Kin. You wouldn’t skip work, but you would give up weekend plans to help them move. Outside of that, but still inside the fence, is your tribe. These people you probably would not even answer the phone if they called in the wee hours and if you did you would offer to send someone to help them but not get up and go yourself. They are still in your inner yard…but just barely.

The Outer Yard contains all other people. While this does include the evil, terrible monsters, it is also the everyday people you see but know their names. There are good and honest people outside of your yard, you just have no connection to them. These people won’t have your phone number to call you late at night, or any other time.

Along with Frith come Grith. Grith is a manufactured peace that is limited and specific. Grith is set up for people that would be in each other’s outer yard to guarantee the safety of the united group. A safe space if you will. This would have been set up to facilitate things like an Allthing or on sacred ground. In modern times we find a version in Facebook groups and other social media where there are rules of conduct. We also see this in certain public places – like a grocery store. Grith has established rules and known consequences.

For further information:

We are Our Deeds by Eric Wodening

Also check Eric “Word-Weaver” Sjerven’s YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0znFFrIeSyIMJFZ4m9smkQ