The Havamal: A Heathen Path of Living (Part 27)

48.

The generous and bold have the best lives

And are seldom beset by cares,

But the coward is in constant fear

And the miser begrudges every gift.

This stanza, simply interpreted, means “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” More broadly, this stanza tells us that to be happy you have to let go of fear. A coward is, by definition, afraid of many things: death, failure, or embarrassment. A miser is also a coward. He fears a future in which he will not have enough. A miser is afraid that someday he will be in need and there will not be enough food or money to take care of himself and his loved ones. So, a miser hoards his goods and hates giving anything away. Remember, you can’t spell “miserable” without “miser”.

But, both the coward and miser forget one important fact: they are not in this alone. By living a generous life, others see you as someone who will give of himself to help others, even if it is just to help other people feel good. By living a bold life, others see you as someone who lives without fear and they are attracted to that. So, the irony is that the more you give of yourself, the less likely you are to be alone and without friends when the hard times come. And, unfortunately, there will always be hard times even for cowards and misers.