Thing 2014 - Valley Park

When they say that meeting Heathens in person is different than online, they're not kidding. It's one thing we promote with Ulv Hamre.

Yesterday, the point of our Appalachian Asatru event, was to simply bring folks together in the area, that may not even know that there are other Heathens around them. A lot of folks found out first hand that there's people literally right down the road from them.

Myself, Frank, and Jeffrey came down first to hang up the raven banners and Norwegian flag. We had our friends, Pat and Cliff from the Asatru Folk Assembly come in soon after. They honored us with a gift to Ulv Hamre and we started talking immediately. Over time, James showed up with his family and a friend, food got brought out. Robert Taylor from Changes brought his friend and family. Things got underway quickly.

Throughout the day, we got various comments about how how people felt at home, either instantly, or within a matter of minutes. That's when we knew it was a success. The fact that folks were happy at an open event, just to know that other folk were close by, shows that we're on the right path here in West Virginia.

Overall, it was great. Good food, good conversation, and it was great to see our folk from the AFA. Pat and Cliff honored us with gifts (that cake Cliff brought got taken out by Myself, Frank, and Jeffrey when we got back) and Pat honored Ulv Hamre over a horn. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

You're Only a Victim, If You Allow Yourself to Become One

 
"You're only a victim, if you allow yourself to become one."

When I think of that phrase, I think of my mother, who is laying the hospital bed beside of me at the moment. She's always been against being the victim. This doesn't mean that she's never had anything terrible happen to her. This just means that she believes in being strong and doing what you have to do, not for recognition, but only for survival and happiness for self.

She was in an physically abusive marriage, had everything she had worked her ass off for, destroyed in a flood, laid beside her first born son in a hospital bed and whispered to him that it was okay to go, and was with him a little bit later when he took his last breath, and a ton of other things that has happened in her lifetime. Now, she struggles with an inoperable brain tumor. Interestingly enough, she's not complaining. Even after being in the E.R. for almost 12 hours, she had a smile on her face.

When I look at the media and the state of the world, I see a society that makes it cool to be a victim. Instead of making a point to achieve goals, we're told that we should be offended and lazy. Thing's didn't go your way today? Someone must hate you. Did you not get that new iPhone? It's because someone believes you didn't deserve it. You should start a revolution until you get that damn iPhone.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't complain, or that you shouldn't feel bad. Sometimes, you need some time to refresh yourself, work through things, but move on. When people spend more time bringing it to everyone's attention that they're a victim, instead of doing something to better their situation, then they are the ones who put themselves in that situation. This has become a major problem in modern society.

So what do we do? I think we need to look at our ancestors. In the most difficult times, instead of limiting ourselves based on other's standards, why not do something to better ourselves. Our ancestors worked and fought so that we could get to this point, and now, it's almost a waste if we don't become more active in our own lives. Through hard work, finding happiness in yourself and your family, and by not giving up, just because something is difficult, you honor our ancestors. When we breed those virtues in our children, we, in turn, will be honored by our descendants.

"If I Don't, Then Who Will?"

I remember when I was a kid, I would go visit my Grandmother who lived next door. Usually, I would end up following her around the house. I would hand her things, pick up stuff, and help her vacuum. She would take a seat for a few minutes. Take a puff off of her cigarette, watch a little QVC, and say to me as she twisted the cigarette butt in the ashtray, "Well, back to work." I remember asking her one time why she did housework every single day. Her response was simply, "If I don't, who will?" And, with a raspy laugh, she would go back to cleaning.

I still remember that vividly, even now, ten long years after her passing. The other day, I was getting things ready for the Event we have coming up here on Sunday, and her voice, as plain as day, hit me. I had been thinking about how much work is going into this and how, right now, Ulv Hamre is the one putting in the work. Our families and friends have also been helping with input and being supportive. Essentially, we're the work horses right now. I asked myself why this was, though...and then I heard my Grandmother say, "If I don't, who will?" It's funny how memories like that pop in your head at the right moment.

Throughout the day, I had remembered her saying that. I had just sat down from working on my office that I had planned to fix up for months. As I sat there, I let my mind wander a bit to try to make sense of things, as I often do when my thoughts get cluttered. I began to think that the biggest problem with modern Heathen culture is that many people don't take enough action. Instead of going out and doing things, often times, times, folk will sit behind a computer or their phones and talk about it. I've mentioned this before to the members of UH in casual conversation, but I never actually sat down and thought about it in detail.

The problem seems to be stemming from a mixture of lack of motivation, laziness, and no structure. These things are easily fixed. It's just a matter of doing it. I find it interesting that when you sign on to any Facebook group and many forums and sites, you'll see folks talking about being proud Heathens and calling each other "brother" and "sister", when they may not even have a relationship or connection to these people, outside of the group/forum. They respond to opposing ideas with talking about how they'll have that person's head on the end of their sword. There may be a meme or something made. Often times (not all, of course), these folks are content with just spending their time being social on the internet, and never try for anything else.

This is the root of the problem primarily. When I first found Heathenry, it was a shock. I had found a name for what I was already. I grew up this way. Once I found it, I was active in looking for those who I could bond with on a personal level and create something more with. I wanted a group that could be my extended family. Not because we're in the same Facebook group or forum, but because we share a connection and a goal. Over the years I've found people I clicked with automatically, some folks I tried and couldn't, and others it seemed impossible to deal with.  What I had found is that I got along with those who were more active. Internet Heathens, not because they had no one around, but because they just didn't want anything more, are the ones that I had more difficulties with.

The bottom line is, many people just talk. The reason things don't get done, is because people think words are enough. What this equates to is looking to win the lotto and telling everyone you're going to win, but you haven't even bought a ticket, and despite what you've told everyone, you probably don't have any intention of buying one. People talk to gain attention and popularity. People often say things just to fit in or look good with a certain crowd. This is why we haven't grown here specifically.All this talk and no action to back it up. When there is action sometimes, there's no planning, no working, no cooperation. Structure is lacking, and soon after it begins, it's over.

We have to look to the future and think about what we can do to become active and how we can continue to build a Heathen presence. People will come and go, Kindreds will fall, and at the end of it, it will be those work horses that will be the ones still standing. After all, if we don't build and maintain this, then who will?

Our Sagas

I've been reading a great book, by the name of Mountain Mists: Appalachian Folkways of West Virginia. In the introduction to the book, it says, "As these early mountain folk went about their daily lives, they preserved their folkways in the form of stories and songs so that later generations now have a rich reserve of these earliest settlers' lives. These stories were told around the hearth in the long winter evenings while the winds blew and snow piled high against the cabin walls. This rich oral tradition has been preserved through the years and forms and integral part of the Appalachian cultural heritage."

This is interesting, because not only is it a part of our past, but here in the mountains, it's a part of traditions today. Many stories have never been written down. They're spoken on road trips, hikes, while sitting on the porch, and at the dinner table. They're spoken in secret and between many friends. These stories, are our sagas.

Over the last year or two in Heathenry, I've noticed a large growing focus on the afterlife and, more specifically, Valhalla. For me, the moment I die, I'm not going to worry about where I'm going, or not going for that matter, but where I've been. Will my stories be told for generations after my last breath? I hope so. We should live lives that will continue long after we're gone through oral tradition. I want to know that although someone may have liked my stories enough to write them down, maybe someone loved them so much that they couldn't forget them, and so they pass it on through spoken word. It is, after all, the way of our ancestors.