Love Always Endures

ἀγάπη πάντα ὑπομένει 
“love always endures”

From Paul’s 1st Letter to Corinthians, Chapter 13:4-8

Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ ζηλοῖ, οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται, οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς, οὐ παροξύνεται, οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν, οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, συνχαίρει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ· πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένει.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always endures.”

Agape usually refers to the love of God for man and of man for God. But, the Hebrew word ahev, which agape is derived from, has a slightly wider semantic range, and is also extended to include a brotherly love for all humanity.  Thus, Agape arguably also draws on elements from both eros (erotic love) and philia (brotherly love) in that it seeks a perfect kind of love that is at once a fondness, a transcending of the particular, and a passion without the necessity of reciprocity. [Refer to: Philosophy of Love]

Orders vs. Responsiblity

An “order” is THE DIRECTION OR COMMAND ISSUED BY AN AUTHORIZED PERSON TO A PERSON OR GROUP WITHIN THE SPHERE OF THE AUTHORIZED PERSON’S RESPONSIBILITY.

By implication an ORDER goes from a senior to juniors. But, to those persons who do not conceive of an organization larger than a squad, they tend to lump all seniors into order-issuers, and anything a senior says into the category of order, and then tend to lump all juniors into order receivers.

This may be the way it works for squad tactics in the field; however, it is not sound leadership in my opinion.  Actually what it does is make all seniors into sergeants and all juniors into privates. It is an oversimplification that we are all taught by Drill Sergeants who do not want to stretch the imagination or sprain any mental muscles of new recruits.  

Unfortunately, such an organizational arrangement holds good for the rifle squad, but it fails to take into account more sophisticated or more complex organizations. And it unfortunately requires a more complex organization to actually accomplish any mission. 

Where one has a squad mentality in an organization, one easily gets all manner of conflict, and usually does.  As few sergeants ever waste any time in trying to explain to the “rank and file” what the mission is or ultimately what is their responsibility in it. “Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die!” was the battle cry of the Light Brigade.

“Responsibility” on the other hand means: THE STATE, QUALITY OR FACT OF BEING ANSWERABLE OR ACCOUNTABLE FOR SOMETHING UNDER ONE’S POWER, CONTROL, OR MANAGEMENT. 

Responsible in the context of leadership means: 

• Legally or ethically accountable for the care or welfare of others
• Personally accountable or able to act without guidance or superior authority
• Being the source or cause of something
• Capable of making moral or rational decisions on one’s own and therefore answerable for one’s behavior
• Able to be trusted or depended upon; reliable
• Based upon or characterized by good judgment or sound thinking

The bottom line is that essentially responsibility means that a leader DOES NOT WAIT FOR ORDERS TO ACT. He is the one who, guided by policy, acts on his own initiative to handle and supervise his area and others and does not himself require supervision.

Orders are required where responsibility has failed. Non-Compliance only occurs when orders have had to be issued in the first place. False reports only occur where ignorance or avoidance of orders exist. And the tailspin begins only when responsibility has failed in the first place.

This does not mean that orders are unnecessary, as there are many situations where a ship may need to be steered off a disastrous path. And any mission requires an overall direction, i.e. an operational order with a mission statement, in order to provide an intent for what needs to be accomplished. However, all such an order really does is assign responsibility. HOW that responsibility is fulfilled is entirely up to the juniors receiving the order.

It is very interesting that one can examine the above definitions and analyze any leader’s general competence. Where any of these things are missing in one’s character or duty or general conduct, there is very likely to be a flaw in the activity under that leader’s authority. One could go over these items one by one for oneself or for another, and should see at once what had to be improved and what was satisfactory in one’s leadership activities.

I challenge you to look over this for yourself, and to measure my leadership by it as well.

Odin’s Riddle

“Now Odin strode through the shallows and gripped the gunwale. He climbed into the boat and stood over the body of his dead son. For some time he gazed at him. Slowly he took off his arm-ring Draupnir… and slipped it onto Baldur’s arm. Then Odin bent down and put his mouth to Baldur’s ear. Again he gazed at his son; then he left [the pyre].” —from The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland

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What did Odin whisper in the ear of his dead son?

As the story goes, the first person to ask this question was Odin himself, disguised as a wanderer, in a contest with the wise Vafthrudnir.  When Odin posed this riddle, “Vafthrudnir looked long at his guest, and recognized him.  He said in a low voice, ‘No one can tell what, long ago, you whispered in the ear of your son…I’ve pitted myself against Odin.  You will always be wiser and wisest.’” (Crossley-Holland)

Apparently, no answer to the riddle was given in the Lay of Vafthrudnir, nor anywhere else in the sagas. Some suggest that Odin promised his son resurrection, since it was foretold that Baldur would rise again after Ragnarök. Others say it is impossible to know, and that mankind will be wondering until the end of time.

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Odin Whispers…

I am the binder ‘n’ breaker;

I am the beginning and end.  

On the edges of realms, I am—

A wanderer of the thresholds, 

Far above into airlessness, 

Far below into nothingness. 

I am he that parts the waters;

I am the creator of nine worlds;  

He that makes oaths and enforces, 

He that separates and divides.

But, I am also the oath breaker, 

The smith of lies and shape changer.

I am my brother and destroyer, 

And he who shall be my savior. 

I built a mighty throne to sit;

Yet, he will be who fells it.

My brother, who is closer than kin, 

May be trickster and conniver;

Yet in the end, his bitterness 

Shall be what finally prevails. 

Yea, though he caused death to my son, 

‘Tis no fault of his own doing. 

I placed all things at the table,  

Without a place for him to sit.

His heart never fully evil, 

As is no one in my image.

T’was but twisted and delighted

In its power and cleverness.  

So, how could I cast him out, 

Any more than reject myself?  

Thus, he became the erosion 

That wore away at my stronghold.

As the dust falls at my own feet,

The fault can be but mine alone

When my son dies, as surely as 

If my own hand were on the spear. 

For, I was set to preserve 

All the good in all the world;

Yet, I am destined to fail

To protect him from the evil.

For, t’is my “good” son that’s placed

On the pyre, by which I kneel, 

Awaiting the final journey

On the ocean of tears save one.

I lay hand upon the gunwale

Prepared to send him to yonder,

At his side, for one last time,

I bend to whisper in his ear

My rune of frith and kinship,

A final wyrd of eternal love.

For, at last, when the sun rises

Beyond Ragnarök and renews,

There will be no breaking apart,

Nor a gathering together. 

The waters will mix with fires; 

The good will be turned to evil.

And below it a New World stands

With no walls between men ‘n’ gods.

The weave goes on as this one ends,

By the light of Baldur it be!

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Love is the Law

There is one word that is written, and surely interpreted, in as many ways as there are hearts. But, what is “Love”? Affection, attachment, passion, desire…it is what poets grasp at and lovers trample upon.

It has been said that “Will is the Way.” But, the nature of Will is Love. Love is a byproduct of Will — it does not contradict or supersede one’s will — but is a complement. And, if in crises an apparent contradiction should arise, it is Will that guides one back aright.

While Love is the law that smooths one along the Way, there is no thought of sentimentality. Hate itself is almost the same as Love. Fighting most certainly is a form of Love! “As brothers fight ye!” Any true warrior understands this.

True Love is always bold, virile, even orgasmic in itself. It is delicate, but it is the delicacy of divine strength. Mighty and terrible and glorious as it is; it is the inscription upon the sacred lance of Will.

ᛚᚤᚡ᛫ᛁᛊ᛫ᚦᚤ᛫ᛚᚪᚹ