I’ve decided that in addition to celebration, contemplation, mindfulness, sacrifice, service and faith, another value expressed in my Northern monastic Rule ought to be hospitality. “Well, duh!” some of you are probably saying now. All I can say is that sometimes I focus too much on my intense inner life and my relative isolation, forgetting that I am supposed to be writing for other people as much as for myself. Not every Pagan nun is going to be doing this for the same reasons I’m doing it, nor within the same context or environment.
There is a great deal of precedence for hospitality as an important value in the primary sources, which is why it is counted among the Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru. Havamal has many words of advice for the host or guest who wishes to behave correctly and avoid making an ass of himself. Being hospitable was probably more than mere politeness in Viking Age Scandinavia, however – it was a necessity in that society. It strengthened existing ties of obligation, kinship and friendship, allowed new alliances to form, and ensured that one would likewise be welcome in the halls of those whom one had previously made welcome. Hospitality was a way of ensuring one’s social capital as well as preserving the well-being of the community as a whole.
How this is relevant to monastic life ought to be fairly obvious. Being hospitable to guests, whether they are fellow nuns or monks or simply visitors to one’s household, shows that the monastic, far from being aloof from the world and its problems, is ready when necessary to help those who may be in need of assistance, food and shelter. Removing oneself from the worldly concerns of lay folk is not the same thing as turning one’s back on them entirely. Indeed, to do the latter is a bad idea. Remember what I said about community and social capital? None of us lives in a vacuum, not even the most isolated nun or monk, Hospitable treatment of guests is a tacit assertion of one’s willingness to partake in the greater concerns of the world, even if one’s goals are not the same as those of others in the community.
Hospitality shown by the community as a whole towards outsiders increases the well-wishes of the outside world towards the monastic community, even in areas where said community is a religious minority. This works for non-monastic groups as well. “They may be a bit strange, but they’re good people” is an ideal attitude for non-Pagans to have towards the Pagans living among them, even if it’s just a lone family or a small kindred or group. Being hospitable (and neighborly, when it’s called for) goes a long way toward fostering that attitude. Even when differences of belief exist, generosity and graciousness are pretty universally understood.
Hospitality increases frith both with the outside world and within one’s own monastic community or household. Being hospitable, generous and gracious to each other as well as to guests and visitors is something that a group of monks and nuns might do well to strive for. Human nature being what it is, friction and problems are likely to arise even in the most harmonious monastery, and striving towards a spirit of hospitable treatment of each other can go a long way towards soothing ill feelings. When hospitality is a conscious goal, along with the other six values I’ve already outlined, things become easier for both the community at large and for the individual in his/her quest for spiritual understanding and greater closeness to the Holy Ones.
I realize I’ve gone into rather more detail here for this value than I did for the other six, but as I’ve said, I’m feeling my way along this road, and in future I might write a more expanded version of the Ethics and Values, Part Three post.
