Whether or not Nietzsche had someone actually love him, I don’t know. If he had, he certainly would have deflected their attentions in favor of his pursuit of his intellectual/philosophical goals.

He had definite views on the life of a philosopher and marriage:

On page 543 of *Basic Writings of Nietzsche in Genealogy of Morals: Third Essay, he writes:

” Every animal—therefore the philosophical animal, too— instinctively strives for an optimum of favorable conditions under which it can expend all its strength and achieve its maximal feeling of power; every animal abhors, just as instinctively and with a subtlety of discernment that is “higher than all reason,” every kind of intrusion or hindrance that obstructs or could obstruct this path to the optimum (I am not speaking of its path to happiness, but its path to power, to action, to the most powerful activity, and in most cases actually its path to unhappiness). Thus the philosopher abhors marriage, together with that which might persuade to it—marriage being a hindrance and calamity on his path to the optimum. What great philosopher hitherto has been married? Heraclitus, Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant, Schopenhauer—they were not; more, one cannot even imagine them married. A married philosopher belongs in comedy, that is my proposition—and as for that exception, Socrates—the malicious Socrates, it would seem, married ironically, just to demonstrate this proposition.”

Apparently, the philosopher is married to his work, not to a woman, who would detract from his serious contemplations. Did he take a long term lover? I wonder.

I can relate…completely to Nietzsche’s sentiment. As an intelligent, introspective and quasi-philosophical married woman and wanna-be writer, I find myself conflicted and sometimes even irritated over having interruptions to my thought processes by ordinary things like dishes, child care and being requested to snuggle when I want to think or write.

It’s, in some regards, terribly selfish, but it’s true. Writers, philosophers, poets, artists, and their ilk are often married more to their idea(l)s which can makes it very difficult to make room for people on a long term basis. Sure, there is some satisfaction to be had, but there is a constant tug in two directions – the more tranquil (read: boring) existence of domestic “bliss” and the siren call of the creative/thinking life.

Personally, I think, some amount of suffering brings out creativity as much as ecstasy does. I CAN’T lead a suffering-free life. And I am not sure I want to. I need those major swings between the highs and the lows. But that’s just MY weirdness.

Oh, and Nietzsche coined one of my most favorite aphorisms: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” This aphorism was one that got me through MANY a tough nights when I struggled with suicidal ideations.

And yeah, your presence on this blog was missed.

(1) don’t know how to express their discomfort – had been true before
(2) don’t care enough about our relationship to express their discomfort – not true and see #1.
(3) despise me – definitely not true
(4) despise themselves – possibly true before but not now.
(5) don’t/won’t/can’t own their “stuff.” – working on it

“When a relationship is important to those involved, they look for reasons to stay. They look for the good things shared and hope for the good things that may be shared as the relationship progresses.”

I’d like to think you really mean this.

this would be better

xoxo

Dr. Silverman is a wealth of information. If you are experiencing giftedness in your daughter, there is a likelihood that you’ll find some “gifted areas” in your self. One of the greatest challenges in parenting is allowing our children to soar…even when we are unable to teach them how.

I wish you ALL the best in your quest.

Peace…

Suffice it to say that I’m working on my own stuff.

Best wishes.

(1) You’ve never been “around” me. As far as I know, we have not been closer than 500 or so miles to each other.

(2) I’ve never said that your caring was “a show.” I don’t think that it was/is.

(3) I totally respect your life and family and am glad that you consider it and them a priority. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

(4) You don’t have to “make” me understand that you care. I’m sure you do.

(5) I’ll have to think about the “get over yourself” thing. Seriously.

Finally, regardless of whether or not you think that this post was written only “about you,” it wasn’t.

Thank you for your feedback.

Get over yourself. Seriously.