Gold is little comfort for the kinsman dead.

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Each Thursday I select a Viking quote, sometimes randomly but ofttimes based upon relevance or meaning to my life at that point in time. Despite these phrases being over a thousand years old I believe most can still offer value in modern society and I find it interesting to ponder, weigh and measure them. _{original im src}

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This week's Viking quote

Gold is little comfort for the kinsman dead - Örvar Odd's Saga

What is your life worth to you? Can you put a dollar figure on it...Could someone else? It's an interesting question to ponder and especially so in a world where society drives towards more and more things, which require more and more money. Some, not all, drive themselves relentlessly to earn money for things that, in my humble opinion, don't really matter all that much and, of course, to have the things that do mean much; the basic needs of life in the modern world. Some live to work and others work to live. I'm the latter.

I've worked hard all my life, physically and emotionally, to earn money such that it is these days, no different to those who came before me; the toil might be different of course but the effort probably isn't. I've applied myself to various tasks and missions, built the skills and attributes I've needed to achieve success and then swapped that, and a whole lot of time, for tokens which have paid for the necessities and niceties of life, the wants and needs.

I'm proud of the effort I've made as I've diligently applied it in a disciplined manner but...it's not been my life, just helped support it.

Wealth: Most would apply the word to money and finances however it means other things. A wealth of experience and a wealth of knowledge or understanding to name a few. I like to apply it to my life though, and for most of mine have sought, and actively worked to create a wealth of life.

Wealth of life, to me, pertains to all those small moments that, when experienced enough, touch at the edges to make up larger ones. It relates to that one-way journey all of us are on that ends inevitably and the importance of the experiences, not things, along the way...Or so it is for me.

Am I wealthy? Oh yes, you bet your ass I am, but not from a financial aspect. I'm not financially destitute of course, but I prefer to use life, the quality of it, as a gauge of wealth rather than money and things; life seems far more important to me than money. No amount of financial wealth is more important valuable than a human life; I mean the quality and value of a human's life.

What's yours worth?

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That's it for this week, a thousand year-old Viking quote suggesting that money, riches and financial wealth is less important than a person's life. I've chosen to turn the quote inwardly but it works both ways. Human greed has caused many destructive things to take place, the pursuit for more and more drives people mad with desire and...due to the human condition of ego, pride, hubris and selfishness human's have acted poorly.

The good thing is...we all have the power and ability to affect how we, personally act, how we measure value in our life and to change if we deem it necessary.

In the comments below, please feel free to disagree with my interpretation and add your own if you like, tell a story around this quote or general topic or simply react to it and let me know what you think, how you see it, how it relates to you or someone you know.

Skol.