Think like a Viking: Part thirty Five

This week's Viking quote

A wounded coward lies low. - The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck

"Stand tall in adversity and when challenges arise work hard to overcome them." It's a simple Viking quote I chose today and one selected to honour someone I know who has been struck with adversity for some time now but who continually stands up when knocked down, dusts off and pushes forward - Every time. It's an inspiration.

I believe the operative word in this quote to be coward and whilst it's a strong word, one often used with scorn and derision, it's also a word that could describe ourselves at times. To be cowardly means that one lacks the courage to begin or endure a dangerous, difficult or unpleasant thing...Hands up everyone who has ever done that in their life? I'd say most at one time or another. Finding courage can be one of the most difficult things a human has to do, but one of the most valuable.

But let's also consider the word wounded.

A wound can be physical or emotional, both with their complications. I've been wounded in my life, in both respects, and I'll admit that at times I thought my wounds would defeat me. They didn't though, sometimes because my body was healed by others and itself and with the emotional aspect, after a lot of effort expended to reverse the situation, or at least find a balance-point where I could co-exist with the emotional wound.

Finding courage to stand and continue the fight when wounded can be one of the most difficult undertakings a human can attempt and so many people succumb to it, their wounds, and never find the courage to stand. Does it make them a coward? Well, that's a strong word I guess, although, I believe it's up to the individual to, at least, apply some ownership, take the responsibility to apply effort towards the actions that will ultimately help them to stand once more, take up the fight and push it forward towards victory, or a better situation than they are currently in.

Falling in a heap and staying there, lying low as the phrase says, isn't going to help one move forward. Sure, there's times when a wound is so deep and painful that one is unable to proceed, I'm not unrealistic, however when considering this phrase applied to our lives in general, and the smaller wounds we sustain, well...falling down and staying there isn't much of an option.

Imagine the breakdown of a relationship caused by one cheating upon the other; the wounds can be so painful, almost unbearable and certainly difficult to see past and yet there's a way forward if one looks. Wounds heal, lessons are learned and one gains tools for future use: The axe, sword and shield I refer to sometimes. If one looks up from one's misery, depression, anger, anxiety and feelings of hopelessness one will see a path forward eventually. Fall in a heap and stay there though...Well, I believe we deserve more in life.

Finding the courage to pick oneself up from that pile we sometimes fall into is the first step and it happens deep within oneself. It's no different to the soldier on the battlefield who is paralysed by fear - Courage must be found and it's only ever found within. They rise, take up arms and, quite often, it's those who have walked that path who perform selfless acts of heroism that make an incredible difference to their lives and others. It's the same for all of us. Find the courage to stand and move forward and one will find new realities present themselves.

The fight isn't always a physical one and I don't only mean physical fighting when I use the word. Life is a battle and it'll never go exactly as planned. There is a quote that goes, "no plan survives contact with the enemy." It means that even the best-laid plan can go awry when it's deployed and I think that sums up life perfectly - It's for that reason we need to be able to find courage, the fortitude to acknowledge and accept adversity then the courage to think the thoughts and take the actions that will move them forward to a better result.

That's it for this week, a thousand year-old Viking quote that suggests that through finding courage one can move problems and adversity towards better results. Please feel free to disagree with my interpretation and add your own, tell me a story around this quote or topic or simply react to it and let me know what you think, how you see it, how it relates to you or someone you know.

Skol.