Beowulf's Now

                Firstly, I was happy to hear I was not the only person who had never previously read Beowulf. Although we went over a few topics of the poem in more detail, one aspect of the poem will not leave me alone.

                I have recently read the book, “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. The result of reading this book? Well, I can’t help but relate the essence of this book to everything I read and experience lately. The book is all about the way in which we focus too intently on the future and past, causing us to miss the amazing time we could be having in the present. The Geats and Danes seem to have an amazing grasp on this concept. And they didn’t even need to read a book to figure it out!

                We spoke briefly about the Dane’s tendency to live in the moment. As shown in this passage, the men very rarely worried about a fight before it happened. 

“Then a bench was cleared in that banquet hall

So the Geats could have room to be together

And the party sat, proud in bearing,

Strong and stalwart. An attendant stood by

With a decorated pitcher, pouring bright

Helpings of mead." (491-496)

                With the exception of the conflict and flyting between Beowulf and Unferth, this passage is directly before Grendel’s attack on Heorot. Instead of tensing up and worrying about the future battle, the Geats and Danes decided it was best to celebrate while they could. Although this isn’t a major focus of the poem, it is one of the major parts I got out of it. Why spend our time worrying about the future when we could be enjoying every moment like the men in Beowulf?!