What I’ve been reading:
“Nietzsche: Life as Literature” by Alexander Nehamas
Another re-read. I first started reading this book last year. I loved it so much that there were actually many days where reading it messed up my daily schedule because I kept telling myself “Just 1 more page,” and I would spend way more time reading it than I intended to.
At some point, I needed a little break from everything Nietzsche-related so I dropped this book. Now, I came back to it because there are a couple of specific ideas that I want to revisit, and hopefully write about. Luckily, I made notes throughout my first reading of it, so getting back into it and finding the parts that I’m interested in was easy. So even though I say it all the time, let me say it once again: make notes while you’re reading.
Now, even though Alexander Nehamas is widely respected for his interpretation of Nietzsche’s philosophy, I wouldn’t dare to say that this is THE interpretation, that if you read this book you will understand all of Nietzsche’s ideas.
Why? Because Nietzsche’s works have given us so much material for different interpretations that there is a whole branch of philosophy where scholars dedicate their whole lives to studying Nietzsche and providing opposing interpretations of his works.
However, there is an idea that Nehamas presents that I am fascinated with and that initially drew me to this book:
Why “Life as Literature”? Because, according to Nehamas, Nietzsche views the world through the model of a literary text, and people as if they were literary characters. If you’ve read Nietzsche, you immediately see that “people as literary characters” makes perfect sense.
In fact, through his works, Nietzsche is creating a literary character out of himself, and is “playing the role of Plato to his own Socrates.
If you haven’t read anything by Nietzsche, I’m not sure if this book could serve you as an introduction to his work and life.
If you have read Nietzsche and you are interested in studying him further, I believe this is a book worth reading, even if you don’t end up fully agreeing with Nehamas’ interpretation.
What I’ve listened to:
Alex Hannold on “Finding Mastery” podcast.
Alex Hannold is an American rock climber. You could say that he is either one of the most impressive or one of the craziest humans alive. Or maybe both.
He is best known for his free solo climbs, meaning climbs without any safety equipment. His free solo climb of 3,000 feet (914 m) high El Capitan is considered by some as one of the greatest athletic feats ever performed.
If you are interested in interesting human beings, you won’t go wrong watching or listening anything that involves Alex Hannold.
However, I am sharing this particular podcast episode partly because it’s from February 2018. Although I would call this one more of a traditional interview than a podcast.
But whether it’s an interview or a podcast, I notice most people listen only to the latest stuff. Why? Is there any reason to believe that the most recent the conversations are the most interesting ones? I don’t think so.
I believe it’s a matter of convenience.
“Let me check out the latest episode of (insert the name of your favorite podcast)” - that’s how most people decide what to listen to.
And I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that. I’m guessing that’s your favorite podcast for a reason and, most of the time, you will find the latest episode interesting.
But what I’m proposing is that, if you really want to listen to the most interesting conversations, it’s worth doing some research and finding those older, hidden, gems.
I will do my best to help by sharing those that I find here, but I call you to do the same.
What I’ve been thinking about:
Lonely victory is not a victory. There is true victory only when there is someone to share it with.
Recently, I reached a sort of a milestone that is extremely important for my personal life.
If you remember the weighted vest training analogy from the “Why Living With a Bulletproof Vest is The Best Thing to Ever Happen to Me” essay, the best way to describe my recent achievement would be to say that I finally managed to remove a couple of more kilos from my vest.
It’s a moment that I’ve been thinking every single day for quite some time now.
And once that moment came, the greatest satisfaction didn’t come from what this meant for my life, or from the sense of pride that I achieved something that was objectively difficult.
The greatest satisfaction came from sharing this victory with a person that I couldn’t have done it without.
And I realized that, even if I was able to do it without anyone’s support and encouragement, it would be no victory if I didn’t have anyone to share it with. It would mean nothing if I didn’t have someone I knew would be genuinely happy for me. Someone I wanted to make proud.
Don’t go through this life alone. If you still don’t have someone that you can share your victories and defeats with, then make the first move. Become that person for someone.
Thank you for reading.
Stay strong, love life, and never feel sorry for yourself.
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