“Few are bold in old age that are cowardly in childhood.”

“Few are bold in old age that are cowardly in childhood.”- Volsunga Saga, c.18

For today’s wisdom, forget your actual childhood.

Today, we are all children.

Whatever age you are right now, be that 18, 37, 52, or 99 years old, you are a child.

And tomorrow, not next week, or next year, but the literal tomorrow for whenever you read this, that day is your age of majority, your fruition as an adult, I declare you officially a “grown ass man or woman.”

Are you a bold child? That is, are you bold today?

If so, that bodes well for tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.

If you are not a bold child, if you are not one who embraces boldness today, then likely you will not be bold tomorrow, nor will you be bold in your remaining years.

The wisdom “Few are bold in old age that are cowardly in childhood,” reminds us of another expression “Leopards rarely change their spots.”

If we find it hard to “stick to a plan” be that a training regimen, getting out of debt, the diet du jour, or our declared resolve to “read the classics” whatever your professed desire may be, that failure to follow through is your very own suit of leopard spots that is unlikely to change.

The Viking wisdom gives us both a Warning and a Hope.

The Warning

If those around you [yourself included] do not embody a particular quality, be that boldness, kindness, good work ethic, ready expressions of integrity, a good supply of amiable and interesting conversation. Well, that person[s] is unlikely to change their spots tomorrow, let alone next year.

Be that person your spouse, your co-worker, your acquaintance, or yourself, if they are not a bold, kind, honest, witty child today it simply ain’t in the cards to be a brand new human being down the road when the presses of adulthood and the weariness of age render the assumption of new habits less and less likely.

The Warning is there for us to evaluate our companions along the road in life. Chances are if you are not pleased with the quality or qualities in your fellow sojourners, then it might be the better part of wisdom to seek other bold children. Bold children and bold adults can render us better by the mere example of their company, but only if we emulate those qualities. Lip-service to boldness or patience or integrity are dishonest. Our character is written in our acts.

The Hope

The Wisdom again, “Few are bold in old age that are cowardly in childhood.”

We are heartened by the word “Few.” This let’s us know, that some do change. Some who are not bold or kind or “interesting” can, do, and have embodied the esteemed qualities down the road.

But...Remember, the wisdom is “Few” not “All become bold,’ or “Many become kind,” or “It’s 50/50 who becomes great company.”

It is “Few.”

With the wisdom in mind, evaluate your company well, as our fellow humans are what will permeate our thoughts most of the time in life. We don’t lie awake thinking of our toasters.

If your companions are bold-- Cherish them and value them. Hold them fast.

If they are less than bold, or less than whatever quality that you esteem the odds say that no matter how much you hope otherwise that “child” you see today will be an older, wrinklier more deeply habituated version of the same thing tomorrow.

And…if you do not like your own lack of boldness, then become one of the Few.

It takes discipline and effort to change, but keep in mind if we are not currently one of the Few and have no will to become one of the Few, then you are simply one of the unbold children that other bold sojourners have to suffer on the journey of life. Surely, we all desire more than being tolerated or smiled at as a cowardly child.

"Til Boldness! Að vera einn af fáum! "

“To Boldness! To being one of the Few!”