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Meditations on the Nine Noble Virtues #2: Sooth
14:03 Nov 18 2007
Times Read: 555

Sooth, modernly referred to as Truth, is usually listed as the second of th Nine Noble Virtues. It refers to having the strength to speak at all times with candor born of love for humanity and devotion to that which is right.



Truth means honesty in everything--not just the statements you make or the words you write, but it also means the face that you present to the world should be as accurate a reflection of who you are as possible. And the only way to have it be accurate is by being honest with yourself about who you are. This self-honesty also extends to not cheapening your word by stretching the truth in any way, but calling things exactly as they are.



One of the inherent dangers in this virtue is the tendency to reduce everything to two shades--black and white, pure truth or falsehood only. While the only option to pure truth is falsehood (in greater or lesser degrees), the world exists in an infinite number of shades of grey, and to consider only the purest white to be Truth upsets the balance in all things, including our own self-image.



Once can honestly acknowledge that something is mostly truthful and mostly good without having to like that negative portion; acknowledging that it is there doesn't imply condoning it. Acknowledging that we are not purely good simply means that we have room to improve, not that we are tainted through & through.



Truth means acknowledging what is and speaking it accurately, without bias, for good or ill.

Meditations on the Nine Noble Virtues #1: Courage
16:29 Nov 16 2007
Times Read: 558


[Note: This is the first of a planned series of meditations on the Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru, which a truly respectable Asatruar is expected to exemplify.]



Often a list of the Nine Noble Virtues will start off with Boldness, or Courage as it is referred to in modern language, at the top of the list, as it is one of the easiest to see in others and yet one of the most difficult to attain and propagate through all aspects of our lives.



So just what is meant by Boldness? A restatement I have seen of the Nine Noble Virtues in sentences illustrating their opposites says that "Courage is better than cowardice," giving me a clear direction in which to interpret this broad word. One of the Nine Charges explains it this way: "[It is our duty] to suffer no evil to go unremedied and to fight against the enemies of Faith, Folk, and Family; my foes I will fight in the field; nor will I stay to be burnt in my house."



Obviously, courage on the battlefield is important, but the majority of people today have never been and likely never will be on a physical battlefield. However, if we look at all the ways in which one can be a coward, we find many non-physical battlefields all around us: bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia, and whte supremacy, to say nothing of the more obvious battlegrounds of the legal system.



This first virtue, then, also includes the courage to risk social disapproval or worse in defense of what you know is right; it is the strength to call someone out for their comment characterizing someone as a "filthy Jew" or as "queer", even if they're bigger than you or have friends with them. It is also the courage to go into a burning building after a stranger or to testify in court against a murderer or child molester or the guy down the street who beats his dog or has stolen something, the courage to do the right thing regardless of risk to yourself.



It is the courage to defend your faith against those who claim that theirs is the one true right and only way while recognizing that it may be the right way for them. It is the courage and strength of character to risk social disapproval or worse in defense of what you know is right.