Skáldskapr: Something to Imagine

In 1971 John Lennon penned, and released a song which gave us a glimpse outside the accepted normal beliefs of the christian church. While many took offense at the song, the ideas presented took a step outside the legacy beliefs encouraged by the monotheistic religions of the early European countries.

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people Sharing all the world, you

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

This reminds me of my own spiritual journey as I began to question the confines of the Christian religion. As I grew up bombarded by the influences everywhere of the Christian explorers who came to the new world. My ancestry hailed from northern Germany, southern Denmark, yet, like many of European descent, they too were programmed by the early church.

The idea behind the song, and life in general, is to obtain harmony. Obtaining harmony is easy when you look past the definition of religious, to the person behind it.

Teaching: today’s teaching is about obtaining balance, and being able to see past that which is in front of you. So, with that said, a long time before our ancestors lived a young warrior. He was strong and courageous and could subdue any animal he wished during a hunt. Given the ability to communicate with the animal spirits, he could convince them to give up their physical lives to feed his village. He hunted all year and kept his family, and village fed. However, upon reaching the age to take a bride, he struggled to find a maiden of high enough value. He searched and searched, and yet he struggled to find the women with the appropriate qualities. Too often, people would be thankful and humble before him. He searched and searched for years, diligently seeking for a woman of independence and strength on her own merits. Finally, after years of searching, he sought the Chieftain for guidance and help. “Chieftain, I am unable to find a suitable bride to marry and bear me children”. He told the village Chieftain. The Chieftain sent him away and consulted with the gods. Finally, he sent for the warrior. When the warrior entered the Chieftain’s home, he spoke “Chieftain, I have searched and searched, but I am unable to find a bride”. The Chieftain looked to the sky, “Why do you seek something you do not wish to find?” The Chieftain looked at the warrior, “You need to journey to the highest hill and seek your bride there?” Slowly he turned from the tendrils of smoke that rose from the fire. “You will go to the hill and search as you have done here”. He turned his gaze to the young warrior. The warrior, now confused, looked directly at the Chieftain, “I will”, and he gathered his horse and traveled far away in search of his bride. After many days he found the highest hill, and climbed to the top, where he could reach up to touch brother moon. He cried out “where is my bride?” For three days he stayed there shouting to the sky. He looked as far as he could see in every direction. He looked at yelled, for all three days, but no one came. Finally, after the three days, he climbed back down and gathered his horse to travel back to the village. Arriving at the village, he immediately went to the Chieftain. “I did as you asked, I traveled many days, climbed to the top of the hill until I could reach brother moon. I stayed there three days and searched as far as the eye could see in every direction. The Chieftain spoke “Did you look down?” The warrior considered the question, No, I sought her at the level I was at” he said. The Chieftain turned to face him “ if you were standing at the highest point, how could your bride appear at your level? This is why you have struggled. You seek people to be at your level, you want them to be equal to you without knowing who you are. You must take time to let your potential bride know who you truly are, as you are asking them to love a legend”. The warrior thought about his position within the clan and thought about what others must think of him. He left the Chieftain and began to express his vulnerabilities to the young maidens of the village. As he did, he noticed that the faces the maidens wore were softer and more gentle. He finally found the bride he dreamed of.

The idea conveyed within this story is that we must seek our inner peace and balance so that we are able to allow ourselves the ability to put down our preconceived thoughts about others before truly experiencing the person.