In Some People, Courage Has NO Sticking Point
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. ”
― C.S. Lewis
If you cannot take harassment;
if you cannot take a stand against the crowd;
if you are so incredibly soft that harsh words will break you;
if the opinion of others means more to you than your Gods;
if the opinion of others means more than that of those who have built traditions;
If you cannot make decisions without relying on others of small virtue — all of whom have their ego-driven agendas;
if you don’t have the integrity to at attempt to communicate effectively and well,
what kind of human being do you think you are?
Personally, I recommend a bit of inner reflection, character building, silent meditation, and maybe a course in virtue ethics–especially if you want to pretend to be a monastic. Trying reading John Cassian on virtue, and lack thereof (especially slander).
We cannot live in fear of what others think and at the same time, do clean work for our Gods. That’s not how integrity functions.
I guess it comes down to an old Italian saying Mutti used to tell me: one ass can’t sit on two donkeys. Do you serve the world. or do you serve your Gods? At some point, we all have to choose.
Posted on June 19, 2024, in Uncategorized and tagged Community, Courage, cowardice, Lived Polytheism, never trust a marxist, Polytheism, theology, virtue ethics. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
Gangleri's Grove 
Great reminder that to stand in integrity and service to our Gods we need to stand in our courage.
I would add the point of being aware of Who and What our Gods are. More than a God by Name, what values do I honor and revere my Gods? If I honor Aesclepius as the “Upright Man” or Tyr, by value of His integrity, this is a practice I have. If I honor Sangetall or Gangleri, these are values of Odin’s I love.
Sometimes I need to address the aspects of the Gods that I find uncomfortable, because these are values in me that need development and honing.
There is a saying that rather than being created in the image of God, people create God in our own image. Like the money lenders in the Temple, or the belief that certain Protestant groups hold that their god (sorry this did not deserve a capital) will reward them with money on earth. So the gods people create like wealth or image lie within the societal norm, not the avenue of piety, or the reality of the Gods.
Susan Hintz-Epstein susan.hintz.epstein@gmail.com (518) 989-2018 home • (518) 719-6437 cell
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I’m glad and I thank you, Susan, that this is turning into something more than my slap at someone. What you say here is, I think, right. I would add that I really do think we are made in the image of our Gods but I wonder if we are also charged with reifying that moment of creation again and again through our choices. That’s a goal to live up to…and I’d say it’s alluding to what might be termed “Theosis”: living in a way that each moment of life and devotion brings us closer to union with our Holy Ones. Our daily choices matter.
It’s HARD dealing with community (the blessing of community I was once told, is community but the curse of community is ALSO community). There’s a lot to balance and for those of us who have been serving our Gods as best we can (sometimes better than at other times) there are moments we’ve fallen short. I have not had a day of peace since I became devout. Odin is …everything for me and I wouldn’t change a single moment in my service to Him (not even my mistakes because that has led me to know Him better, to course correct, to grow, and it has led to my experience of His kindness and undeserved forgiveness). It has been very hard though and His values have become mine.
This is one of the things that got me doing the nightly examen: yes, Odin’s values are mine, but what does that look like in a human being? I need to live in a way that carries those values forward positively, creatively, sustainably. I need to make myself ready, to maintain myself. I can’t control whether or not someone else has courage or piety or anything else. I can’t control what people say or do. I can control myself. I can control what I do to cultivate virtues that my God values. We have such tremendous agency in shaping who we become in service to our Gods. In the end we have to live with what we have done and what we haven’t done and the hardest thing for me has been to learn to value my failures as much as my victories over myself. Our Gods shape us and They all have Their own desires and goals and values that They pour into us. That’s … a lot. There isn’t time to dance around fearfully when there is holy work to be done.
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Always the Gods.
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Yes: ALWAYS the Gods.
there are times I’ve stumbled and I have such shame about it, but we learn and get better…of course we have to WANT to get better.
It’s the oddest thing to feel oneself at times flailing against Their formation, but when the flailing stops and the prayer begins and we ask Their help to cooperate…it changes everything. Oh our Gods are so incredibly good!
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Someone once asked me how many people have I pushed away because of my faith. My response was that I have never pushed anyone away. They were the ones that pushed me away. If people ask me to abandon my Gods for them or they are leaving then they are free to leave.
So if I may ask, what exactly was done that prompted this? I don’t wish to dwell on negativity but perhaps it’d be beneficial to hear about it so we know exactly what to avoid
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Nothing of consequence. It is better to focus on our Gods and how we go about developing moral courage and virtues that support our faith and how we can support each other in doing that.
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