I just recently read this: http://www.uppsalaonline.com/uppsala/odin.htm Click on the "Serving Odin, or any god" link at the top and you'll see what I'm going to be referring to.
The part about how Odin treats his followers really shocked me. It says that his devotees are no strangers to misfortune and hardships. I myself cannot seem to get away from hardships. For instance: My life is so full of negative irony that just thinking about it nearly drives me mad. And shortly after I turned 18, I developed some sort of illness that's been plaguing me ever since (been in and out of doctor's offices, had numerous tests done on me, blah blah). In other words, I'm sort of an unfortunate soul.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm afraid that I've somehow become one of Odin's followers without even trying and that he is testing me. Maybe he wants me to learn from my trials. I quote: "He has, perhaps, one gift to give and that is the gift of hardship, of challenge. Perform, he says, or die." I'm not so sure I want THAT gift.
Anyway, your thoughts are much appreciated.
Oh, and on a side note: There are a lot of 9's pertaining to Odin (the whole 9 days and nights hanging from Yggdrasil thing, etc.). My birthday is 9/9/1990. September 9, 1990. My birth certificate says that I was born at approx. 9:15 in the morning. That's a lot of nines. It seems like 9 is a significant number in the Nordic religion. That's gotta count for something, right?
The part about how Odin treats his followers really shocked me. It says that his devotees are no strangers to misfortune and hardships. I myself cannot seem to get away from hardships. For instance: My life is so full of negative irony that just thinking about it nearly drives me mad. And shortly after I turned 18, I developed some sort of illness that's been plaguing me ever since (been in and out of doctor's offices, had numerous tests done on me, blah blah). In other words, I'm sort of an unfortunate soul.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm afraid that I've somehow become one of Odin's followers without even trying and that he is testing me. Maybe he wants me to learn from my trials. I quote: "He has, perhaps, one gift to give and that is the gift of hardship, of challenge. Perform, he says, or die." I'm not so sure I want THAT gift.
Anyway, your thoughts are much appreciated.
Oh, and on a side note: There are a lot of 9's pertaining to Odin (the whole 9 days and nights hanging from Yggdrasil thing, etc.). My birthday is 9/9/1990. September 9, 1990. My birth certificate says that I was born at approx. 9:15 in the morning. That's a lot of nines. It seems like 9 is a significant number in the Nordic religion. That's gotta count for something, right?
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