Declaration of Purpose VIII

VIII. The exploration of the universe, in keeping with the Faustian instinct of our kind

We are a wide-faring Folk. Óðinn is a wanderer, and those who follow our Gods have typically been horizon-seekers. The longship has been replaced by the spaceship and the electron microscope, but the spirit of exploration remains the same. Our love of freedom and our craving for frontiers are undoubtedly connected. Stagnation brings on complacency, and complacency is death.

We would not be the advanced race that we are had our forebearers not been so adept at exploration and incorporating the latest technology of their time. Lord Óðinn is the epitome of our nature to seek new horizons and push beyond what we thought possible. Without that inherent nature, we as a race would still be barely clinging on to our existence just as you see in many other races around Miðgarðr, where their only means of survival comes from others stepping in to hold their hand. It is paramount that we continue to seek new opportunities and sights, new frontiers and capabilities. Not all races are equal; if that were the case, we would all be adept explorers and there would be no need to bring other races along, riding on our coattails as they contribute very little if anything to human advancement. Look around at other indigenous peoples around the world and you will see how stagnation, complacency, and a lack of the Wanderer’s spirit has left them far behind in the human experience, begging and grasping for others to carry them along or they would indeed cease to exist. Keep striving to improve yourself and your Folk, pushing perceived and imposed boundaries to seek new opportunities and environments.

Goði Nathan Erlandson

nerlandson@runestone.org