Slow Havamal: 145

[kylec]

In verse 145, we learn that it’s better not to pray than to ask for too much, because you will have to pay for whatever is given. It’s also better to sacrifice nothing than too much. Odin carved these warnings before Man was born, and before Odin rose up and returned.

The heart of this verse is a bit of wisdom given by Odin before any human being walked the earth, so I’ll start with that context. Odin carved this message, probably in runes, after rising up and before returning. That’s a cryptic bit, but it probably refers to the time after which he hung himself from Yggdrasil and before he brought the runes and other knowledge back. Part of me also wonders if there wasn’t a little friendly competition between the poet of Havamal and his contemporary Christians—oh yeah? We got a guy who rose up and returned, too.

The advice is sound, and though it flies in the face of what many modern people believe about prayer (basically a divine vending machine), there are plenty of thinkers who echo the sentiment: Nothing is free. You can ask for whatever you want, but you’ll pay for it, probably in advance, and if not, soon after. There is something like a thermodynamic equilibrium at work in the movement of blessings.

That means if you want to be the finest shoemaker, it won’t be granted with a tap of the wand, but by your circumstances changing so that you get opportunities to learn all the really difficult aspects of shoemaking, including a lot of stuff you didn’t imagine came with it; the loss of anything in your life that prevented you from reaching that goal, no matter how cherished; and having to live with whatever kind of life you end up with, whether or not you like it. In a sense, prayer IS like a vending machine—you have to pay for your chips, after all.

The same is apparently true of offerings. Both give and take require balance, and it’s better not to participate at all than to do it in an unbalanced fashion. You could certainly offer your entire herd of cattle, but you’d have to accept whatever life a man without cattle leads.

On the other hand, this leaves us with good practical guidance in making prayers. What we’re really asking for is to be guided to opportunities to learn the lessons, and change the things about ourselves, required to achieve our desires. We don’t pick the way, the timeline, or how we feel about the result, so before asking we should be really careful that we’re willing to commit to an unknown course. I don’t see this as retributive, or some kind of snarky punishment, anymore than I see the transfer of energy being concocted by some jerk. That’s just what it takes to make changes.

That means we’re better off focusing on ends than means. If I wanted to be the best shoemaker because what I really desired was the money and respect (and self-respect) I thought I would enjoy upon attaining that goal, I might find that what I got was the same crappy moods and a pile of shoes. So if what I want is a happy, secure life, maybe I should ask for that instead, and be ready to do whatever brutally hard work stands in between me and that end.