Aims: Profundity through
clarity. Funniness through self mockery, understatement and kindness
It's the journey, yeah?
Interesting man, difficult
to read, particularly in his own language. I've poked about different secondary
stuff over the years - books, podcasts etc. This little thing might shed some
light.
Ch 1: How to find your best self
We can do it.
The path to it involves
suffering, annoyance with oneself, disappointment, envy and frustration.
We look at those we admire
but don't see how they got there.
Insight into this helps us
see that suffering is not failure, but a necessary part of the process of
becoming our best self.
Ch 2: on Visiting the Pyramids
I think his point here
(Armstrong's, the writer of the book - what you're getting from me is tertiary
commentary) is that when travelling (physically or mentally) we should regard
(value) our lives (our attention and devotion) as valuable resources that
should not be wasted...
The old chestnut of why go
to Spain? For sun, sea, sand, sangria etc or to walk in a Spaniard's shoes and
get a weak feel for what it's like to be Spanish...
"I walk a mile in your
shoes
And now I'm a mile away
And I've got your shoes".
For me; obviously both...
My history and my choice
enable me to value the latter, even if my Spanish is fairly rudimentary, and I look
and behave more like an Anglo-Saxon than a Spaniard. But that's just me.
So chapters 1 and 2 refer
to deciding you can do it and then deciding what you are going to do. For
anyone who's read Stephen Covey's 7 habits, that's his first two chapters.
Or am I and Armstrong
super-imposing this upon him.
I don't know.
Who cares anyhow?
If I'm right, the next
chapter will be about managing oneself to get the results one desires...
Funnily enough, Ch 3 is Dealing with Conflict:
He talks of the realms of
Apollo (dreams, the rational, orderly etc) and Dionysius (drunkenness,
intuition, revelry - Kings of Leon again, Only by the Night)
His initial point was the
need to live the latter in a world in which the former predominates. Later he
talks more about the importance of balancing the two, controlling the two,
controlling oneself.
Clearly that is what you
have to do if you are going to achieve what you set out to.
I've been giving my
Dionysius a longer reign, recently. When balanced with Apollo I shall be
superman.
Or is that cheap?
Depends on your superman
More later.
Armstrong's final thought
on Dealing with conflict: 'We can find dignity by giving honourable names to
both sides of the conflict'
Like Bob and Charmain?
Anyone read The Chimp
Paradox? Clear parallels here with Nietzsche’s
conflict. Though there are multiple similar divisions; science and art, left
and right brain, intellect and emotion, brain and heart...
Also think of Feel the Fearand Do it Anyway, Susan Jeffers.
Though I've not read it,
the title gives it away...Comes in handy when waiting at airports. Far easier
to ride the fear when you've told those that matter how you feel recently, I
find.
Though you don't want them
to feel your fear for you either.
Covey's 4th-6th habits are
about applying yourself to and for others. Nietzsche doesn't address this much
- I haven't read much of him except when quoted by other people, but I do
believe that he doesn't address much outside of the individual, when most
normal people, I would have thought, do think about things like love and trust
and respect and communication and teamwork. Leadership requires followers,
preferably some that love you rather than fear you. Unless they can ride the
fear and give you honest feedback despite it, though I can't help thinking that
fearing your leader must be
a bad thing on principle. We probably won't learn about this
in Nietzsche.
Ch 4 The Troubled Path to
Freedom and Maturity - I suspect this is going to be difficult.
Freedom involves
separation, a hard but consoling lesson
For a loving person (adult
or child) to break bonds is so hard they might have to be violent and cruel.
This is not because they hate you but because they love you.
I suspect that a lot of
this, in his case, is justification after the event...
The point is not that we
should learn the same things as him but that we should try to understand what
it is that we have learned...
Then we can appreciate
more... e.g. (mine) one's own backyard, clear of muck
Ch 5: On changing one's mind (about a person)
Important to understand why
e.g. because of their renunciation of optimism as was Nietzsche's reason, so I understand, for rejecting Schopenhauer and Wagner.
Ch 6: The merits of shock therapy
Of considering certain
things might not be good - public spiritedness, benevolence, consideration,
industriousness, moderation, modesty, forbearance, pity.
Of considering prioritising
individualism over group morality.
Of considering it a task like
war (to get beauty and wisdom to prevail in the world)
Of imagining oneself like
this and needing friends like this
(I'm not on his wavelength
here. Love and kindness seem to me to have the edge though I see the benefits
of thought games)
Ch 7 Be a noble not a slave
Pro-activity vs Passivity
Don't mistake actual
weakness for fake morality (him)
Armstrong: There are lots
of decent people. Compete harder rather than blaming others e.g. bankers,
politicians
'Do the right thing' (me,
seems a bit weak but helpful)
Ch 8: Don't pull your punches
Try and understand the
person who annoys and irritates and then go for it...
·
God is dead (and God's
shadow): the rejection of religious conviction is not the end of the matter...
think what a belief is and what a belief is for
·
Eternal recurrence: get
serious now!
·
Ease with which we get
despondent: Be an 'aeronaut of the spirit' 🚀.
The
journal/diary/notebook/log as places of hope
Nietzsce as a balancing
agent
Aphorisms
·
Bad spectating, not
appreciating that it is not just you?
·
The warlike man in peace,
turns on himself
·
Punishment for virtues,
keep this in mind when being punished
·
Conversation through
midwifery; takes two and involves conflict
Superman
I said I'd return. Obvious
really - control over your (powerful) self
