Amor Fati- The Love of Fate
There is no doubt that we continue to live in uncertain times. No one quite knows where we are going and what the future holds. We exist in a liminal space of unknowing; a time of transition between worlds.
It is easy to cling onto the promises of ideologies which proclaim they have the ‘right answers’ to move forward. They relieve our anxieties and give us a map to make sense of the world. However, I’ve come to realize that all these assurances are just a façade. The efforts of the modern world to influence and control the will of nature still remain futile at best.
Nothing is ever set in stone.
Nothing is ever guaranteed.
The external world is and will always remain in a state of change and constant flux. ‘Amor fati’ is a reminder to cultivate inner strength and fortitude. We may not know what the future holds, but if we develop the virtues, character and resilience to overcome whatever arises, we will be alright. As the Stoics constantly remind us, we can not control out events but rather we can influence how we interpret them.
So, in the spirit of ‘amor fati’, let me learn to love everything which happens in my life – the good, the bad and the great unknown. This is what I believe to be is the spiritual path. It requires one to be fully present, and embrace the full spectrum of our human existence.
Freedom comes when we accept both of life’s blessings and challenges.
When we resist change, it’s called suffering. But when we can completely let go and not struggle against it, when we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into its dynamic quality, that’s called enlightenment, or awakening to our true nature, to our fundamental goodness.
Pema Chödrön
In the comments let me know something you wish to let go of which is not serving you?
This post was originally published on my personal blog: A Life of Virtue: Philosophy as a Way of Life – In Search of Inner Freedom It has been adapted for Pointless Overthinking
Source Image: Pexels Free Photos
I have been trying to get my head around this very idea for a while now. As a visual artist I explore things significantly with visual metaphors and non-language imagery. I have long been drawn to complex and layered images, layered textures, and the way that these dense and complicated images can inform and transform each other. I especially like textures from nature, like wild grasses, bushes, trees, rocks, etc. If we are out in nature, and trying to look very closely at dense path of prairie, we might only be able to consider the sharp spines, dried stalks and dull browns of a single plant at a time. If we think about the ideas of “prairie grass” or “corn flower”, we have an image of something isolated. Pulling our view back, however, to see how that element begins to interact with the other plants, and how the complexity of the scene then transforms into a “landscape”, we can also perceive “prairie grass” as an undulating sea of gold flowing in the wind and showing us the energy of the invisible air. Amor Fati is like this, a shift in our perspective about one situation of our lives that suddenly helps us to see new interactions and beautiful connections that link us to other pieces of life. What often feels like uncontrolled chaos in the moment, or in the minutiae, is a grand symphony of unbelievable beauty if we can only sit back a bit and take in the larger scope.
Lovely post, I hadn’t really come across the term before, but I am very glad that you have brought it to my attention!
thank you for this very illuminating comment, I never thought about the concept from that point of view. Yes, indeed, it very much aligns with eastern thought, to try to withhold value judgements from events, and let thing as they happen.
As for your other point, in my view, life is a balancing act between chaos and order, yin and yang etc.
What a lovely comment, friend. Thank you for this. 🕊
Love that Pema Chodron quote, Andrew! Beautiful post.
Have you read any of her works? 🙂 Thanks
I have. When Things Fall Apart is my go-to but I have read and learned so much from her.
From the Greeks to the Romans? An interesting post although it is not always so simple. I love your quotes and the sentiments you express in this post.
It can be so difficult to let go, of so many things in this life. I want to let go of anger, cynicism, and pain. Yet I also want to fully embrace them, and learn from them.
Thank you for this thoughtful post, friend. 🕊
Thank you, I agree on the difficulty of letting go. But what benefit will an unhealthy attachment to these emotions bring?