Amor Fati
Not love of the obese
but an embrace of fate.
Nietzsche quoted, not
by me, but by Kate.
Amor fati, it sticks
in my mind, these found
wise nuggets,
captured not mined.
A short and sweet
maxim, difficult to keep.
Embrace the good and bad,
life delivers at your feet
so easy to say, but not to keep.
Amor fati.
Amor fati – found in the novel by Kate Atkinson ‘Life After Life’
Kate Atkinson isn’t the only one to have quoted amor fati. I came across it again when reading Richard Holloway’s latest book Waiting for the Last Bus, Reflections on Life and Death. This book, like much of his writing, is thought provoking and inspiring. In addition to Nietzsche*, Richard Holloway quotes extensively from many writers and philosophers. Have you ever read a book that you hesitate to lend to anyone because you don’t want to part with it? Then you’ll know the feeling I have about this one. I just want to make a bulk buy for some of my closest friends!
You’ll find the following in Waiting for the Last Bus on p150
* ‘…I hope I have enough time left at the table to get better at what Nietzsche called amor fati, love of the fate I was dealt, the life that wove itself on the loom, the person I was.’
What a man he is – and thankfully, he’s still writing.
NB Look for amor fati in Nietzsche’s Ecce Homo II
Life's a Beach 