The Havamal: A Heathen Path of Living (Part 4)

8.

Fortunate is he who is favored in his lifetime

With praise and words of wisdom:

Evil counsel is often given

By those of evil heart.

9.

Blessed is he who in his own lifetime

Is awarded praise and wit,

For ill counsel is often given

By mortal men to each other.

Though these two stanzas sound similar, they are each saying something slightly different. The first reminds us to be grateful for praise and wisdom we get from other people because far too often, there are people who are willing to give bad advice. By ‘bad advice’ I don’t mean wearing a blue shirt with brown pants (though that is bad taste in clothing). I mean the car salesman who convinces you to buy a car you don’t need and may not even run well instead of the vehicle that you really came for. I mean the banker who convinces you to take out that subprime mortgage with variable interest only to learn a few years later exactly how variable it can be. Acknowledge and be grateful every time someone gives you a bit of praise or good advice, no matter how small. Each bit of wisdom helps us along our path.

The second stanza tells us that we should consider ourselves blessed if we can praise ourselves and give ourselves good advice because, unfortunately, even a person with the best intention will be wrong. Being able to make good decisions for yourself is much more valuable than being surrounded by wise people, because all mortals are fallible and even the wisest man can be wrong at times. Another great blessing is the ability to praise oneself. I don’t mean the narcissistic flattery that many people give themselves. I mean a good, honest acknowledgment of your own strengths and positive qualities. Many people have such low self-esteem that they can’t see where they have done anything right. Being able to honestly judge your all of your qualities, the good, the bad, and the ugly, means that other people can’t judge you harshly because you will know the truth about yourself.