Welcome to The PATH (Monday Meditation): A weekly reflection with three insights into daily life. This week’s reflection searches for lessons on the art of living from Nietzsche (Happiness, Walking, and Being Yourself).
1. Happiness
What can we learn about happiness from the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)? A better question could be, should we explore Nietzsche’s writing for insights into happiness? I believe the short answer is — yes.
Nietzsche admittedly struggled to find happiness himself. But one could argue that this is actually an excellent reason to explore what he learned about happiness and the art of living more broadly. As the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky put it, “Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”
In the classic Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche wrote,
I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful. Amor fati: let that be my love henceforth! I do not want to wage war against what is ugly. I do not want to accuse; I do not even want to accuse those who accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. And all in all… I wish to be only a Yes-sayer.
Nietzsche believed strongly in the need for a goal. He attributed some of his own sicknesses to the lack of direction he felt after he resigned from his post at Basel. Learning to live is a call to action for Nietzsche. “The call to stop sitting in the shade,” writes Nate Anderston (a previous podcast guest and author of In Emergency, Break Glass), “to stop being a spectator to one’s own life, to think, to speak, to live.” An ingredient in this call to action is a goal or meaning for life.
“My formula for happiness: a Yes, a No, a straight line, a goal.” — Nietzsche
In Human, All Too Human, Nietzsche advised,
In a journey, we commonly forget its goal. Almost every vocation is chosen and entered upon as means to an end, but is continued as the ultimate end. Forgetting our purpose is the most frequent form of folly.
In one of his notebooks, published after his death, Nietzsche writes eloquently about this need for goals: “If the ‘why’ of one’s life is clear, then the ‘how’ will take care of itself.”
2. Walking
Do you have an activity that helps your thinking? For Nietzsche, it was walking. He said, “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” However, Nietzsche is far from the only one to stress the wisdom of walking.
In his book The Socrates Express, Eric Weiner (another previous podcast guest) explains that when we walk, we are simultaneously doing and not-doing. On one level, our minds are engaged and focused on what’s ahead. Yet none of this thinking occupies much cerebral space.
In a chapter titled, How to Walk Like Rousseau, Weiner writes,
For Rousseau, walking was like breathing. “I can scarcely think when I remain still; my body must be in motion to make my mind active.” As he walked, he’d jot down thoughts, large and small, on playing cards that he always carried with him. Rousseau was not the first philosopher to walk but he was the first to philosophize so extensively about walking.
It is no wonder so many philosophers walked. Socrates liked nothing more than strolling in the agora. And Nietzsche regularly embarked on spirited two-hour jaunts in the Swiss Alps.
“Sit as little as possible,” stressed Nietzsche in his book Ecce Homo, “give no credence to any thought that was not born outdoors while one moved about freely — in which the muscles are not celebrating a feast, too: all prejudices come from the intestines. The sedentary life, as I have said once before — is the real sin against the holy spirit.”
Walking is a perennial habit — it is its own reward. It helps to put things in perspective and quiet the noise of life, even if only momentarily. Walking can help us to forget ourselves and find ourselves.
3. Being Yourself
If a close friend were to advise you to “become who you are.” It might sound like odd advice. But this is precisely what Nietzsche (and many others) stressed; we need to focus on becoming who we are. Although the notion of being and thinking for ourselves is no small feat.
Nietzsche observed,
The first opinion that occurs to us when we are suddenly asked about a matter is usually not our own, but only the customary one, appropriate to our caste, position, or parentage; our own opinions seldom swim near the surface.
Do not take Nietzsche's word for it. Experience this for yourself. Take a few moments to ponder any topic you like to see what arises. You might discover your thoughts and opinions closely resemble those of your parents, friends, or culture. As Nietzsche put it, our own ideas are usually not the first to come to mind. We must cultivate the ability to think for ourselves.
Saying yes to life requires us to begin understanding ourselves and our own reason for living. Nietzsche stressed that we could not return to the past. “We have burned the boats; all that remains is for us to be brave and let happen what may. Let us only go forward — let us make a move!”
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
P.S. As always, feel free to comment, ask questions, or make suggestions.