RETURN TO THE GODS: Session 9

WARNING! THIS ONE’S LONGER THAN USUAL!

So who the hell is this opinionated, self-righteous asshole who puts these rants out there for all to see?!? Just who does he think he is?! Doesn’t he know that the world has changed and things aren’t as they were thirty years ago?

Of course I know that and that’s one of the reasons I am offering this series as a wake up call to all of the mindless, cell phone following zombies out there we call people. There is so much more to life than tracking how many followers one has or instagramming every single moment of one’s existence. Take, for instance, some (but by no means all) of the things I’ve done in my life so far.

From what I’ve been told, I grew up on a ranch in the Midsouth that was nearly a thousand acres. I was the youngest of five boys and every time one of my older brothers left the nest, guess who inherited their chores? That would be me. By the time I turned seventeen, I joined the U.S.Army to A) get off of the farm, B) challenge myself to be the best warrior possible, and C) grow into a worldly traveled and cultured human being. 

With the Army, I have stepped foot on every continent in the world and participated in every combat operation since the invasion of Panama n 1989. That’s when I discovered the anguish of losing my Assistant Gunner and the rush of killing a man who was trying to kill me. I served with one of the quick-strike units under the Special Operations Command umbrella and I was good at my job.

One day, when our unit was returning Stateside from a month-long deployment to conduct counter-terrorist training with the British S.A.S., my parachute didn’t open on a jump. I broke 52 bones and instantly became 2 inches shorter. Within the hour I died on the operating table in an Army hospital and that’s when my whole life changed. That’s when my whole REASON for living changed!

During the 8 minutes that the heart monitor displayed a flat line, I felt myself begin to float up, out of my body and into the air. There was no more pain. There was no more weight of gravity. I saw a bright light in the distance and I was floating toward it. Then I heard a deep, manly voice say to me, “And just where do you think YOU’RE  going?” 

A large, regal man with long white hair and a beard smiled at me. I noticed he had one eye missing and the other one burned like fire. I pointed at the bright light and he said, “You may go if you like, but if you’re up to a challenge, I still have use for you.”

I looked down and saw the doctors and nurses working frantically to get my heart started again in my broken body. “I need you to tell people to come back to us,” he said. “I need you to help save the world.” I thought about going back into my body and how much it would hurt. “Oh, yes,” he said. “It will be very painful, but I will be here for you and I will give you everything you need to get the job done.”

So I nodded. Then he took his golden spear and sank it into my heart up to the lugs. He pushed me back down into my body and the pain was like being struck by lightning. Then everything went black.

Two weeks later I woke up from coma. The doctors had to drill a hole in my head to relieve the pressure from my brain swelling and for some reason I lost all of my childhood memories and experiences. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t read and it would be almost a year before I could walk (which the doctors said was a miracle). But every single day, that one-eyed God visited me and helped me to recover fully (well, almost).

I didn’t know He was Odhinn at first. But He revealed to me Himself and His purpose for my existence. And that purpose is to help get things back on the right track before we as a society destroy each other. No pressure there!

So, I really don’t care what PEOPLE think. I have a direct commission from Allfather. And before you say, “Oh, that’s crazy!” or “He’s cracked!”, just think of how you would feel if my story happened to you! Didn’t Jesus say something along the lines of  “a prophet is not known in his own country“? And what about Muhammed with his billions of followers?

Now you know why I walk around like I have the secret to life. Love me or hate me, I really don’t care. But I have a job to do and this is only a part of it.

Farsaela,

Rauth