Slow Havamal: 39

The 39th verse has Odin tell us he has never met anyone so generous and hospitable that he wouldn’t happily accept something offered in return for his kindness.

I’ve written an entire essay on generosity. This verse affords me a chance to add another layer I’ve been mulling over for a long time: that of gratitude. My basic argument in the generosity essay is that we can look at this virtue as one based on energy exchanged. We are generous when we give others energy, or spare them from having to use their own. This is literally true, as in giving food, or our labor. It can happen in a very direct fashion, or take a more circuitous route. But think of any act that’s extremely generous and you’ll soon spot how one person gave a tremendous portion of their own energy to another.( Read more... )