The Havamal: A Heathen Path of Living (Part 44)

72.

A son is a blessing, though born late

To a father no longer alive:

Memory-stones seldom stand by the road

Save when kinsman honors his kin.

This stanza reminds us that anything good that happens in our life should be recognized and appreciated.  The first two lines speak to a time when a son would inherit all of a man’s possessions and carry on the family name.  In modern America, daughters should be appreciated as well.   Memory stones are large stones that are erected in important places with runes inscribed in them to commemorate a certain person or their deeds.   Memory stones were erected by children for their parents, by wives for their husbands, and sometimes by parents for their children.  Most were very simple, such as a stone found in Sweden that reads, “Hróðleifr raised this stone in memory of his father Skarfr.  He travelled with Ingvarr.”  These stones were often large and heavy and would not have been easy to erect.   Also, not everyone understood the runes and could write a message.  Often, someone would have been hired to do the engraving.  So, a memory stone is a much more involved and much more permanent than a Hallmark greeting card.  As we will see in later stanzas, the ancient Norse idea of immortality comes from being remembered and the best way to be remembered is to have your name carved in stone.

This stanza reminds us to appreciate any kind gesture no matter how small.  We should appreciate any gift we receive.  As a counselor, one of the difficulties I face with some of my clients is that they will overlook or dismiss any small improvement in their life.  For instance, a client that is shy in social situations will dismiss the fact that he spoke to a woman at a party, because he did not get her phone number.  He has neglected to appreciate the fact that he made the effort to talk to her at all when just a few weeks earlier he probably wouldn’t even had the courage to go to the party in the first place.  Oftentimes, improvements in our lives come in small increments and to neglect them is to neglect the positive changes we are trying to make.