I personally don’t believe Nietzsche loved his life, he just came up with that as a coping mechanism of what he was dealing with on daily basis. When life is difficult and it seems that no matter what we do it wouldn’t change, we tend to adopt such philosophies in order for our brain to cope with and process tragedy without going insane. That’s how I see it, but, he did go insane eventually.
Poverty is so much more than a lack of material wealth. In the same way, wealth/being rich is much more comprehensive than lacking material poverty.
Someone may have money, but no positive relationships. Another may have no money, but has good health or lives in a beautiful place. The key is to discover in what way you are rich, and then immerse yourself in it.
I’ve been poor and homeless. It was hard to love life at that time but I had to keep looking for anything that would remind me to keep going. Children, beautiful scenery, kind strangers, God…
I think we have to be careful with the concept of accepting and loving one’s “fate.” Accepting what can’t be changed, such as one’s parentage, personality, blood relations, birth into poverty or war, a damaging upbringing, the unchangeable nature of others, deaths of loved ones, or an irreversible health condition is one thing. Acceptance in those cases can yield positive results and help people deal effectively. Accepting things that can and should be changed is quite another matter, and probably not healthy. In that case, acceptance takes the form of complacency, fear, or stubbornness, and the individual may remain in a stagnant or unhealthy situation because change seems daunting or scary ( I’ve gone way beyond the question of homelessness and poverty, here). It’s pretty sad when we see people accepting crap situations that don’t need to exist, but they insist are their “lot in life.” I think we have to be careful not the fudge the lines between what is changeable and unchangeable.
According to Stoic philosophy you can. Maybe not “love” but be at peace with your life. It was their lives purpose to train their minds not to be affected emotionally by external events that were out of their control. Being poor and homeless are examples of external things out of our control, as are sickness and death. Thinking this way they were able to find tranquility. Marcus Aurelius, perhaps the best known Stoic, wrote: “External things are not the problem. It’s your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now.”
Wow. I haven’t thought about Stoic philosophy (or any other philosophy for that matter) since college. I recall that all these different philosophical concepts made my head hurt back then and they probably still do today…lol!
Nihilism. It’s not love but a reinforcement that any belief system or moral values are meaningless, therefore any action or state of mind that lead to homelessness is just as it is.
If you’ve chosen to live outside the social economic norms, sure. You could love being ‘poor’ and homeless. If you’ve been forced out of your home with no way to support yourself, you still have the will and power to be content with your situation, even if you’re working to change it. Through that willful contentment you will be more open to seeing the good that happens. I’ve met some pretty damn cheerful homeless folk, they’ve got wisdom.
I should say that I believe in fate and as smart as.most of us are, in the end there is very little we can do to change our fates.
I think life is one aspect of fate, but our fate is much more than our individual life. To a cetain extent we can direct our lives along certain paths, but fate will always be the critical variable, or limiting factor that determines the end result.
What I’ve said may be senseless, but in college I took only one course in philosophy .Thus, I am not an expert, and of course I was young and had no real interest whatsoever in the subject, as I was a chemistry not a humanities major.
@Kathy I’m sorry but I disagree. You have only commented on fate as negative. The unexpected turns in life can be amazing. Fate, situations, income level, relationships, can all be positive too. Fate isn’t limiting, the mind is the limit.
I personally don’t believe Nietzsche loved his life, he just came up with that as a coping mechanism of what he was dealing with on daily basis. When life is difficult and it seems that no matter what we do it wouldn’t change, we tend to adopt such philosophies in order for our brain to cope with and process tragedy without going insane. That’s how I see it, but, he did go insane eventually.
Very true! Some of the homeless want to remain living on the streets.
And, strange as it seems, some of the wealthy enjoy pretending they are poverty stricken..
Kathy Adams
People are just strange ?
Poverty is so much more than a lack of material wealth. In the same way, wealth/being rich is much more comprehensive than lacking material poverty.
Someone may have money, but no positive relationships. Another may have no money, but has good health or lives in a beautiful place. The key is to discover in what way you are rich, and then immerse yourself in it.
The glass Castle by j walls (a memoir)relates to this I.e the mums homeless and has no wish to live in a home
Perhaps you should read Gorky.
Good question, I’m interested in people’s thoughts on this.
Poor and homeless is atrocious in the 21st century, I know – being on the cusp! Think of family and there’s love!
I’ve been poor and homeless. It was hard to love life at that time but I had to keep looking for anything that would remind me to keep going. Children, beautiful scenery, kind strangers, God…
Yes, “the kidness of strangers”.
Tenn.Williams
If you are rich in the material realm but poor in spirit, you have nothing at all.
I think we have to be careful with the concept of accepting and loving one’s “fate.” Accepting what can’t be changed, such as one’s parentage, personality, blood relations, birth into poverty or war, a damaging upbringing, the unchangeable nature of others, deaths of loved ones, or an irreversible health condition is one thing. Acceptance in those cases can yield positive results and help people deal effectively. Accepting things that can and should be changed is quite another matter, and probably not healthy. In that case, acceptance takes the form of complacency, fear, or stubbornness, and the individual may remain in a stagnant or unhealthy situation because change seems daunting or scary ( I’ve gone way beyond the question of homelessness and poverty, here). It’s pretty sad when we see people accepting crap situations that don’t need to exist, but they insist are their “lot in life.” I think we have to be careful not the fudge the lines between what is changeable and unchangeable.
According to Stoic philosophy you can. Maybe not “love” but be at peace with your life. It was their lives purpose to train their minds not to be affected emotionally by external events that were out of their control. Being poor and homeless are examples of external things out of our control, as are sickness and death. Thinking this way they were able to find tranquility. Marcus Aurelius, perhaps the best known Stoic, wrote: “External things are not the problem. It’s your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now.”
Wow. I haven’t thought about Stoic philosophy (or any other philosophy for that matter) since college. I recall that all these different philosophical concepts made my head hurt back then and they probably still do today…lol!
Nihilism. It’s not love but a reinforcement that any belief system or moral values are meaningless, therefore any action or state of mind that lead to homelessness is just as it is.
If you’ve chosen to live outside the social economic norms, sure. You could love being ‘poor’ and homeless.
If you’ve been forced out of your home with no way to support yourself, you still have the will and power to be content with your situation, even if you’re working to change it. Through that willful contentment you will be more open to seeing the good that happens. I’ve met some pretty damn cheerful homeless folk, they’ve got wisdom.
I should say that I believe in fate and as smart as.most of us are, in the end there is very little we can do to change our fates.
I think life is one aspect of fate, but our fate is much more than our individual life. To a cetain extent we can direct our lives along certain paths, but fate will always be the critical variable, or limiting factor that determines the end result.
What I’ve said may be senseless, but in college I took only one course in philosophy .Thus, I am not an expert, and of course I was young
and had no real interest whatsoever in the subject, as I was a chemistry not a humanities major.
@Kathy I’m sorry but I disagree. You have only commented on fate as negative. The unexpected turns in life can be amazing. Fate, situations, income level, relationships, can all be positive too. Fate isn’t limiting, the mind is the limit.