Live Dangerously, said Nietzsche
The secret for the most enjoyable life
Friedrich Nietzsche said,
"the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment is: to live dangerously!"
Today, it’s questionable how many people truly live, let alone live dangerously.
When you look around, you mostly see people just passing through this existence, waiting for it to end with the least amount of pain and discomfort.
And those who seem to be living dangerously usually practice just one form of courage: physical.
Undoubtedly, physically dangerous activities can make this life more interesting and enjoyable.
However, Nietzsche held us to a much higher standard. He wanted us to face greater dangers and extract far more from this life than the rush of driving fast or skydiving.
"Live dangerously!" said Nietzsche.
What can be more daring than experiencing life in its entirety and risking being burned and broken in the process?
What can be more dangerous yet rewarding than to do as Rilke said and “let everything happen to you, beauty and terror”?
What could be more perilous, more terrifying than embarking on the adventure called life?
"Live dangerously!" said Nietzsche.
What I heard was:
Try and give it your all, even when failure seems inevitable.
Give love another chance, even when your heart has already been broken.
Think for yourself and speak the truth even if you know you’ll be judged and ostracized.
Have faith, even when no one else does.
"Live dangerously!" said Nietzsche.
What I heard was:
Don't say, "It's just a hobby." Admit that it's a passion and let that fire burn as brightly as possible.
Express your uniqueness even if you know you will be laughed at.
Leave the safety and comfort behind you.
Step into the unknown, no matter how terrifying it is.
Let your old, smaller self die so your new, greater self can be born.
"Live dangerously!" said Nietzsche.
What I heard was:
Dare to love life once again or for the first time ever, even if you’re surrounded by cynicism and despair.
We may live in physically safer times, but you can still be a hero, a warrior, an explorer, an adventurer. There are still plenty of opportunities to live dangerously.
You don’t have to go to the other side of the world for that. You can stay right where you are. Just look around. And, most importantly, look inside.
I experienced living with a bulletproof vest and having to look behind my shoulder every time I left my house. I experienced worrying if a bomb had been attached to my friend’s car because he’d been driving me around. Still, the most dangerous things I’ve ever done were deciding to share my writing online and loving another human being.
You can live dangerously. You must.
“To love is to risk not being loved in return, to hope is to risk pain, to try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in my life is to risk nothing.” -Leo Buscaglia
Free Resources:
Clarity Quest - self-exploration course
My free ebook: The Lost Art of Reading
If you like my Existential Espresso writing, there is zero-cost support in the form of subscribing, liking this post, commenting if you have any thoughts on it, and of course sharing this with anyone who would find it interesting.
Or you can consider becoming a paid supporter of Existential Espresso for 5$ per month. By doing this you would be helping me to keep investing time into researching and writing all the content on the daily basis.
What you get by becoming a paid supporter is access to the members-only essays (such as “Why Having a Price on My Head Didn’t Upset Me”or “Why Living With a Bulletproof Vest is The Best Thing to Ever Happen to Me”), as well as an opportunity to recommend topics for future essays.
However, even taking the time out of your day to read what I have to share with you means more to me than you can imagine. Thank you.
We´ll live :)