Chapter 14: Ragnarok (Part 2)
INTERPRETATION AND PERSONAL THOUGHTS
Confusingly, we want Ragnarok as much as we don’t want it to happen. It is the greatest battle in Norse mythology and we want to see it and learn about it. But it ends the glory of Norse Pantheon killing our favorite characters so we don’t want it that much.
But it came in the end. It came to make us realize quite a few things.
Life is a Parabol
Indeed, the cosmos began with completely darkness. But one light shone away the darkness. Life begins with nothing. Then the Gods and other creatures started building their worlds. Time and time passed by, they had the Nine Worlds. The Aesir Gods held much power and they reached their time of glory. But when Ragnarok came, things started to perish. Their glory ended and once again the world reached zero number again. The parabol is the best to illustrate this as it is U-shaped.
Our life is similar to the Norse Pantheon. We are born and raised. We reach our prime of youth and the most beautiful time in our life. But time and age finally find us. We finally come to where we begin. Nothing.
True men in the face of death will fight until the end
Norse Gods knew the fate already woven for them. As Baldur passed away, it became more and more clear that the fate would find them one day. But they still tried and fought bravely in awareness of their defeat. They didn't abandon their ship of hope. Norse Gods devoted everything into their battle until their physicial power was shut down.
This is a deeply motivational message from Ragnarok of Norse mythology. One thing should be remembered is that Norse Gods didn't fight in a positive attitude. Rather, they are haunted with their defeat. But all they did was to pick up their weapons and fought until they no longer could.
The point here is to never stop bettering yourself even if you know you can never reach perfection. But what's wrong with the imperfection after we have bravely tried so hard. We should be proud of it. We should know to aim at the moon because even if we miss, we stand a chance of landing in a star. Our source of time is finite so do what you can to make a positive change to the world, even if you fail, you already do something great for yourself.
We must do anything to protect and raise the next generation
Had Odin and Thor not raised their kids well, the new world wouldn't have started with a good and new beginning. Had the values of Norse Gods not carried on, would the light ever have fallen in the darkness?
Take a look at the list of Ragnarok survivors, Baldur, Hodr, Vidar, Hoenir, Vili, Magni, Modi, Hermóðr, Forseti and Ullr. They were the offspring of the older Gods for example Odin and Thor. Only the young generation survived and they continued to build the new community like their ancestors had done before.
Every child will become an adult and every generation creates the new world. Whether you are a real father or just a fatherly mentor of someone, do all we can to raise the children successfully. Prepare and offer the young with the necessary tools for renewal and the power to bring forth a splendid future.
Some thoughts about Loki and Giant Army
Whether Loki was a villain or not is hard to say. Personally I think, it is not fair to make Loki bear all the responsibility of Ragnarok.
Many times, I think Loki didn't want to wage a war like Ragnarok. But he got no choice. What he had to bear was too much. His family was damaged and he could not live with his children who were cursed and banished to different lands by Gods. And maybe the Gods just selfishly took Loki’s children away to satisfy their desire. We only see that the Gods were trying to prevent Ragnarok but we hardly spare a thought about how Loki might feel when his children were mistreated.
Loki had to witness the death of his sons and was bound to the rock by the entrails of his son. Odin and Frigg couldn't bear the death of Baldur. And Loki couldn't tolerate the painful death of his son, either. Revenge, in this case, was a natural process. No one was to blame for this disaster. But the fate never escaped Loki as he fell in the last battle of Ragnarok. Loki and the Gods as well fell in Ragnarok.
