Changes: Breytingar

By Bryndís Viglundsdóttir

The Icelandic Roots Writers' Group submits short stories about Icelandic life and lore after given a prompt for an article. We will be presenting a short series of these articles from "Changes". Bryndís gives us the description for breytingar, Icelandic for "change" and the many encounters she has had with change.

The word breytingar, meaning change, has incredibly many faces. Thinking about

it and looking into it I realized that thick books could be written about this word. I am referring to the meaning, the hidden meaning, the relationship to other words, the consequences of adopting this word; e.g. going for a change and on I could go. This word proved to be very interesting.

Let´s look at some encounters I and other people have had with changes. There are those who complain about their monotonous life, nothing ever happens, there are no changes and nobody cares, they say. I often asked myself when I was a child if somebody should care how I felt about my daily life. My mother told us, her children, that we needed to find and walk the paths where we could enjoy ourselves, get along with other people and look for good and giving connections and be willing to interact with others. Thinking back to her wisdom I understand she was telling us – as Snoopy also later did - that nobody is responsible for our personal happiness but we should be grateful for those who add to it.

Amma told me great many things of her childhood in Ölvus. "Já, já," she would say, this is breytingar - changes, She mentioned the word breytingar often and I didn't really understand it. I remember asking her if changes were always good for people. She had once told me that she was required as a young girl to spin daily into yarn on a spindle

certain amount of wool. She also had to fetch the ewes from the hills twice a day for milking.  Gathering the ewes and bringing them home took as a rule quite a long time from the spinning. So in order to fill the quota she worked out a method of spinning as she was running. "I don't think children have these duties anymore," said I. "You are right, dear, times have changed and in this particular instance for the better," said amma.   

When I moved to Boston in 1962 the young people there were demanding changes. In the balmy Fall evenings that year, Harvard Square was packed with angry students from Harvard, MIT and Boston University chanting “Stop killing farmers in Vietnam”. And the coffee house, “The Blue Parrot”, was crowded with people, listening and singing with Bob Dylan and Joan Baez in the thick smoke coming from incredible abundance of weed.

"Come gather ’round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You’ll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin’

Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin."

(Bob Dylan, “For the Times they are a- changin")

Everyone seemed to know the words being sung. I believed times were “a- changin”; the young people were telling the older generation to change their behavior. I was full of hope that soon life would be better for everyone in the world and talked with much conviction about that glorious time coming to the housemother of the cottage where I was living at the Perkins school. Her calm conviction gave me the chills when she said: “My dear, nothing will change. Don't kid yourself! People thought after WWII that mankind had seen enough crimes against humanity. Look what is happening in Viet Nam."

I still join Bob Dylan when he sings about the changes so sorely needed. I see in my mind an active crater. The evil forces of the world might begin any minute to send poisonous gasses and molten lava all over the Earth. Everything in its path will be destroyed. This is what the Evil forces did in Ragnarök. Their intention was to destroy all life on earth. They caused terrible damage but Life itself was the victor.

Yes, we must not give up hope that the changes may or rather will happen.

People living in Iceland ages ago believed that all evil behavior comes from the master of all that is evil, Loki, Kölski, the Devil. It was also a firm belief among my kin that the Master of Evil, Kölski would never have the final victory. First of all Kölski had demonstrated time and again that he was not a clever person. He was easily outwitted and, while dealing with him, people should always remember that charity and good will is more powerful than evil that so often seems to have all the cards.

Once upon a time The North Wind and the Sun were watching a traveler walking on the country road. He wrapped the coat around him as the wind was blowing a bit.

"Let's see who will be first to make this man take off his coat," said the Wind to the Sun. "Let me show you a change. I will blow so hard that the coat will fly off this poor man." And the North Wind blew all he could, really showing his strength against the lonely man. The harder the Wind blew the firmer the man held the coat around him. "Now you try," said the Wind to the Sun.

She pushed some clouds to the side so her rays could warm the surroundings of the traveler. Soon he unbuttoned his coat and the Sun stroked his hair and his chest with her rays. And in no time did the man take off his coat, exclaiming 'oh, what

a beautiful day'!

Good friends! We need to remember and tell each other that we must not give up the hope that changes may or rather will happen. The rude power of the North Wind didn´t bring about the change. The warm rays of the Sun did.