Slow Havamal: 14

In the fourteenth verse, Odin admits having been too drunk at the house of wise Fjalar, and goes on to say that the best feast is the one you return from in possession of your wits.

Again, we have Odin admit a past mistake. The notion of infallibility simply doesn’t exist for the gods in Havamal. Who would you rather tell you that you shouldn’t do something: someone blamelessly pious, or someone who speaks from the wisdom of their own errors? The second person is already more likable to me, because I’m not perfect, either. I know what it feels like to do something regrettable, then regret it. Any time I’m faced with a prohibition, by inner five-year-old responds with a string of “whys”. When it comes from someone who’s lived the consequences, the advice carries more weight. I imagine that recovering alcoholics prefer to lean on others who’ve recovered from alcoholism, as opposed to tea-totaling nuns. And remember that this is advice, not an edict. We’re free to ignore it. The only consequences are those inherent in the act itself.
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