Choosing Joy
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Everywhere we look we can find one reoccurring theme: The world seems to be a dark, divisive place.
People are angry about everything, trained to find offense everywhere. People are alienated from healthy interpersonal connections, choosing false tinder romances and social media friendships over anything with genuine connection. Men are being trained to believe that just existing is almost the very worst thing they can do, and women are being told that children are a burden that will destroy their lives.
It is overwhelmingly easy for the Folk to focus on what a terrible, no good, very bad world we live in. I know we all do it from time to time, or perhaps more often. The black pill, the doom spiral, the cynicism. But why?
The hard truth is not that we have no choice, but, in fact, that we have a conscious choice. We choose to let the outside negativity live in our heads and take over. We choose to surround ourselves by the negative news, the doom spirally podcasts, the depressing true crime videos. It’s invasive, and when it’s done creeping deep into your brain it starts to chip away at the foundations of all the good things. Before you know it, you are living in a cycle of negativity that you can’t escape without considerable trouble. And that negative spiral contributes to the soul sickness plaguing our Folk.
One of the things I look forward to most during the year is Austra and Þórshof, and the conversations we have during the ladies group. One thing was clear this year, as I chatted with ladies both during and outside of the ladies group. Our Folk need Joy. We need to look, with open eyes, at our lives and the things that are holding us back. We need to look and consciously choose to let go of the sources of our black-pills.
Our Folk are creative, ingenious, strong, and adaptable. For thousands of years we have built, overcome, survived, and thrived. We are stewards of our bloodlines, dedicated to preventing the death of our beautiful Aryan families. We are the stewards of Ásatrú, the early pioneers working to rebuild our faith in unfriendly territory. How exciting, and how desperately important is that?!
When we choose Joy, we are choosing to build ourselves up. We are choosing to build our Folk up. We are choosing to build the foundation on which our families and our Folk will build our futures. We are choosing to build up the gifts the Æsir and our ancestors have given us. Choosing Joy lets us create a positive world for our children, for our Gods, and, very importantly, for ourselves. Our Folk deserve Joy. You deserve Joy.
I am Joyful, every day, when I hear the laughter of my children as they play together. I am joyful, every day, knowing that I get to stand before our Gods in Holy Temples, but specifically, that I can drive an hour down the road and open those doors to Freyshof. I am filled with Joy knowing that my Folk and I are working together, every day, to build the future for my children so that they will never know a world without Ásatrú in it.
So, what are three things you are joyful for? Not just grateful, but three things that genuinely fill you with Joy.
I task every one of you- male or female, married or single, parent or not — Find something that chips away at the peace and joy in your life, and find a way to cut it out.
Every day, with your morning prayers, or when you have a few quiet minutes before bed, remember where you come from, what your Folk have and can continue to accomplish, and name three things that fill you with joy. Build this into your routine. Make this a part of your everyday ritual. Making choosing a conscious thing.
And choose Joy.
Gyðja Catie Erickson
~ From The Runestone, April 2026 ~
