4 November 2020
Amor fati is a Latin expression meaning love of fate. It is tied to Stoicism but more directly to Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) the philosopher who proclaimed that “God is dead.” The point of this blog, as in the previous two blogs, is to challenge our understanding of SMART Recovery’s unconditional life acceptance (ULA) by testing the strength of parallel concepts. This week that concept is amor fati.
Epictetus (50-135 CE), who paid us a visit in last week’s blog, was more explicit about the things under our control (only our own acts) while SMART’s ULA acknowledges that our emotional response to challenges (health, wealth, reputations, and professional success), will be hard to experience. Nietzsche took this one step further recommending that loving your challenges is nobler than ranting, whingeing, or despairing.
“My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary…but love it” (Ecce Homo, “...Clever,” 10). Is this worth considering? On the negative side are the obvious heartbreaks: losing loved ones, failing at lifelong goals, and reversals of all sorts. How did Nietzsche expect sane people to love such cutting losses?
Perhaps the answer is in the valuation of principled (value-based) living versus emotional (feeling-based) living. The Stoics valued self-control, wisdom, justice, and courage. Their argument, and Nietzsche’s, was that you will live a nobler, more self-respecting, and well-spirited life by embracing, enduring, and quietly moving through your hardships than you will by fighting, denying, and loudly resisting them. If this is correct, embracing, enduring, and quietly moving through your hardships is loving your fate. Embracing, enduring, and quietly moving through your hardships is also radical (to the root) acceptance.
There is a paradox here for embracing and enduring speak of grasping, holding, and apprehending while quietly moving through and accepting speak of release, flow, and letting go in aid of unencumbered freedom to choose your values, your goals, and your way forward. The choice is a posture of accepting well-spiritedness or sorrowful regret.
Dan Chalykoff facilitates two weekly voluntary group meetings, as well as private appointments, for SMART-based counselling services at danchalykoff@hotmail.com
Love this and Worth Embracing This Concept of Accepting well-spiritedness.
Glad you’re digging it, Suzanne! Thanks for reading.