By Triúnn liðþjálfabikkja

Some Norðmenn are currently living within a civilization they are not meant for; either for the purpose of work, school, or even circumstances outside of their control. For those who do, many questions can cross their minds, or even for those Norðmenn with no bros, like “how can I retain my masculinity and not get arrested at least till I can leave?” or “how do I still work on my skills as a Norðmaðr while I’m in the middle of a city?” For many of these Norðmenn, these are important questions, especially since maintaining and improving their masculinity is extremely important for spiritual, mental, and physical reasons.

Retaining and even expanding one's masculinity can be extremely easy; it can be as simple as not being weak. One of the foundations of masculinity is so simple that many make it overly complicated: strength in its simplest forms--physical, mental, and spiritual--should be the first goal of any male who wishes to be a man. Norðmenn should be the strongest of all men in every way, though in today’s world that isn’t very hard, as many males are weak. So the next question becomes: how can I be the strongest if everyone around me is weak, and I’ve already gotten stronger than most? The answer is to find those men who are strong. Many men in the old days and some today went out and found such men, then worked to be better than them. One must realize also that there is a marked aspect of competition, as one needs that drive to want to be the strongest and to beat those who are stronger. As this concept leads the average man into becoming better than everyone around him and creates the mindset as well as provides the tools needed to build a better you, so to speak, as this concept or drive for competition will lead to the betterment of the man into what he wishes to be, no matter what.

When masculinity comes into question, not many understand the mental and spiritual aspects of it, or even know that they are a part of it as well. When it comes to the mental aspect, it comes down to discipline and control, but also the approach of thinking logically rather than emotionally. Over the past couple of decades we have seen a rise in boys being brought up to think emotionally as many men have been portrayed as being heartless monsters, or simply lacking certain emotions which society will deem as psychopathic. In reality, emotions can cause terrible incidents and dishonor not just for yourself, but also for those you care for, whether that be family or tribe, so thinking logically is imperative for any Norðmaðr who wants to be better. As emotions are normal, it is not always bad to think with emotions, but they should not be used in every situation; such as if you caught your wife with another man or woman. Of course, the immediate response emotionally would be to hurt one or both, but logically there is no point; kick the two out and have her stuff out the door before morning. Now do not misunderstand; anger is a natural and useful tool if used properly, such as using it like a sharpened sword rather than a blunt bat. Yes, the damage will be significant, but which would you prefer: a few broken bones or a precise slice in a precious artery that will take down your opponent? Many will simply become angry, and just try to obliterate whatever makes them mad with loud noises and blind rage, but if honed and used correctly, they can truly destroy anyone, but one needs a calm, level head even when angered. Now one thing to understand before I move on: this mental skill takes time to develop for those who have been brought up in the Abrahamic/Christian culture where emotion is ruler, so it takes time to truly think logically and do it effectively. 

The last part of masculinity, and more likely the most important in my opinion, would be the spiritual aspect. Now to many this will seem like a, “Go to church” type of argument, but really that has nothing to do in this situation especially for Norðmenn as we are Heathen. In all seriousness though, a man cannot be himself in an urban sprawl as it lacks what our ancestors truly came from or even the soul to connect to in a sense. Nature is where a Norðmaðr should be or at least for some escape to when the current situation becomes too much but also to note, a man in general should never intend for a city to be his home, as a city truly has no soul or love for man. The first step is to find a place where you feel free, a secluded forest, a mountain, some hills even and sit, let the land spirits or landvættir speak or simply let them be as they will. Another step is getting out of the christian mindset that you can only feel connected in a building. A Norðmaðr feels truly himself and connected with his bros and in nature. 

As you can see, I have pointed out a couple of ways not just to develop your masculinity, but also how to take a step in the right direction in terms of masculinity for those who have no clue. Now for men, masculinity should be easy and simple to attain; but with centuries of different cultures or cultural influences that have gone on a mission not just to dampen a man's masculinity but to eradicate it all together. As the rise of Christianity has led to the thoughts and ideas that God is the only thing one needs, or to the politically left who say that a government will be all one needs, even to going as far as many modern cultures being built from Christianity that dictate that there is a higher power, whatever it may be, that will either provide or look out for us. A Norðmaðr must understand the world is not our friend and neither is our caretaker. We write the story of our lives, not some other higher being or collective of dictators who couldn’t give less of a damn whether we die as heroes or die as cowards. We may all have a set beginning and end, but that doesn’t mean the rest is fated or destined. We choose what we do with ourselves and we must choose to stand for what we believe in and to face every challenge with the same determination and strength as our ancestors did. They succeeded; obviously, as you wouldn’t be here otherwise. Take the time to become better physically, mentally, and spiritually. Become reliant on yourself or maybe your tribe and bros as well, as God and/or government will not be there to save you when everything falls apart because as I said, they don’t care whether you live as a hero or live as a coward.