"...For Man is the joy of Man."

For a change, the subject is actually heathen today. Coming, as it does, from the Havamal. I'm not normally a big fan of the Havamal. It is a bit piecemeal for my liking and comes across as a dumping ground for dozens of odd snippets of quotes, probably taken out of context.

I have a friend who is quite a solitary person. He doesn't really keep in touch with his family. I'm not sure what his relationships with his other friends are like, but we only indulge in occasional, superficial interaction these days. So, I've come to think of him as a bit of a loner, you might say. The other thing about him is that he sometimes has trouble dealing with life. Emotionally, he can be quite fragile. Like me, he too has a long and bitter history with the black dog of depression. Like me, he shares issues with self image now and then.

As a heathen, I have a tendency to link those two aspects of his character. The only reason I feel I handle life's tests better than he does is that I keep in touch with my extended family. I also have a network of friends with whom I am very close. So, when life bowls me a googlie, I have them to fall back on. Not really in the sense of sharing my woes with them or using them as a sounding board for my feelings. Just knowing that I am a part of their lives and they are a part of mine helps me get through most trials and tribulations with fewer emotional upheavals than he suffers.

Heathenry is about being part of a community. Even solitary heathens are only solitary in the sense they don't have other heathens with whom they associate. They still have family and friends who support them. At least, I hope they do. No man is an island. Nor are women.

As I have always contended, my family is a big part of my heathenry, despite not being heathen themselves. I know some heathens have issues with their families which preclude the kind of relationships that I enjoy with mine. But people do say that the families of the twenty first century are made up of friends - that is very true. We all need that support network. They also provide a greater whole to which we can offer our strength, fealty and toil.