Zarathustra

'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' by Nietzsche is more like poetry or a lyrical rendition than a story.
Laced with metaphors which leave you perplexed it can be difficult to see beneath the surface. I never enjoy having to flick forward to the end notes in order to decipher what the writer is going on about. However this exercise, however frustrating, engages you with the book and increases your understanding of the writer as a whole.

Sometimes Nietzsche hammers a point home by directly addressing an issue and taking it to pieces through plain speech and a self driven philosophy. This will to power leaves you enthused with wanting to do the same thing. Other times his metaphors, similes and anecdotes tell more than an example could ever do.

I personally relate to Nietzsche in a number of ways. Yes he is polemical, arrogant in his writing, and sometimes seems in dispassionate and nihilistic. However I think this is to take Nietzsche at the extreme.

His argument that we have to grasp life now and anyone who preaches otherwise is misleading strikes home with me. His love of humankind is twisted by his continued references to herd mentality and human condition. However it seems to me that he has deep compassion for humanity, as a product of nature. The condition of being part of nature means we contain both the qualities to create and destroy. This must be overcome , become the overhuman, so we can drop the latter and keep the creativity and passion. Nietzsche notes 'if one thing is true nature also has a backside' which in context is a clear reference to nature also containing an arsehole.

I could go on but I'll leave it here. If you want to discuss or criticise leave a comment.

They then call out 'Zarathustra is Godless'

And especially their teachers of submission call this out -but in their ears I love to shout: 'Yes! I am Zarathrusta, the Godless!"

Who is more godless than I, that I might seek out his instruction'