[One Thousand Characters a Day] Reading Nietzsche at Forty<1> - Parting with Familiarity

by Jo Inkyung

Published 06 Apr.2023 06:00(KST)

Updated 06 Apr.2023 08:34(KST)

[One Thousand Characters a Day] Reading Nietzsche at Forty<1> - Parting with Familiarity

Editor's NoteAt the transitional age from midlife to later years, we face numerous questions. 'How should I live from now on?' 'Is it possible to regain what I missed in the past?' 'Can I avoid losing what I currently have?' 'Am I truly the master of my own life?'
When life calls for a turning point, when you want to move forward in a better direction, when you want to truly love your life, meeting the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche can change your life path. Nietzsche's philosophy conveys the realization and method to love your life proactively and passionately, without sitting down in despair, no matter how meaningless, painful, or fearful the present life may be.
Jang Jae-hyung, author of Nietzsche to Read at Forty and head of the Serendipity Humanities Research Institute, says he always keeps Thus Spoke Zarathustra close and has read the entire 21 volumes of Nietzsche’s collected works countless times, especially whenever life was difficult. He selected 25 particularly important philosophical reflections that Nietzsche pondered and left behind, and based on the insights gained, included Nietzsche’s practical methods for overcoming life’s hardships and loving one’s own life in this book. Some of these are introduced here as a 'One Thousand Characters a Day, Ten Thousand Steps a Day' transcription content. The text contains 711 characters.

"God is dead. Now we hope for the coming of the Overman."

May this be our last will at the great noon that will someday arrive!

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus left the famous saying, "No man ever steps in the same river twice." This is because the river flowing past the person’s feet is always different water. Heraclitus believed that all things come into being and pass away according to a single principle. The world is constantly changing and full of events that cannot be logically explained. Therefore, our lives must essentially be in constant flux.

We now live in an era of upheaval like a whirlpool. It is difficult to keep up with and adapt to the speed of change that continuously creates new waves in the world. However, a life that stops changing according to the flow of the world is no different from being dead.

'Are you living the best life you ever wanted?'

'Do you have the will to live fiercely once again in midlife?'

'Is there still a dream in your heart that you have not yet achieved?'

'Is a previously frustrated dream still binding you?'

'Do you want to live a thrilling life once more, a life different from others?'

Nietzsche’s answer to these questions is consistent.

"Man is always something that must be overcome by himself."

Now, you must practice parting with what is familiar. The familiar things are those you have believed in from the past until now.

- Jang Jae-hyung, Nietzsche to Read at Forty, Yuno Books, 16,000 KRW