Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietszche

The first thing I thought to myself while reading this book, is “why the hell did I never read this before.”

I had heard about the things Nietszche was famous for, like the phrase “That which does not kill me only makes me stronger.”

Or we remember Paul Dano’s lovable tortured teen character in the film Little Miss Sunshine.

We know Nietszche is supposed to be tough, negative, the word “nihilism” comes up, nihilism being often described as the most hopeless amoral position.

This does not match my reading of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which I found to be inspiring, full of positive messages, and extremely uplifting.

The book parodies the bible, somewhat ironically, where the main character Zarathustra wanders the world like an atheist Jesus, preaching the gospel of the Superman.

The Superman, or “Übermesnch” as many of us have heard it called, is Zarathustra’s only transcendental promise. The Superman is compared to lightning, and Zarathrustra proclaims that the Superman is what is to come after man is surpassed. Yet it is so close because you know that with effort it could be you, since the Superman describes humanity at its best.

Zarathustra hails unconventional virtues like will, for Zarathustra exercising your will is comparable to the Kingdom of Heaven in the bible. The will in this book is the high road, a thing to be embraced in of itself. This framing of will makes it a state of being to be sought, to be willful, to be ambitious, to master that which is before you. Its really beautiful.

Zarathustra hails solitude, like a beloved lover. He condemns traditional morality, saying that it is something to be surpassed. Zarathustra condemns conformity, and throughout the book hammers in to the reader that life is something to be lived passionately.

One of the most beautiful lines in this book is when Zarathustra is pestered by one of his nay-sayers he says that “Where Zarathustra cannot find something to love, there he will pass by.”

To only go where you can find something to love is such a wonderful rule to live by, a true embrace of the fact that the only heavens any human will ever know are those which can be found in this life.

I strongly recommend this lovely book, and hope to hear from many of you about your opinions.