Greens and Purples and Silvers

True, we love life; not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.

I would only believe in a god who could dance. And when I saw my devil I found him serious, thorough, profound, and solemn: it was the spirit of gravity--through him all things fall.

Not by wrath does one kill but by laughter. Come, let us kill the spirit of gravity!

I have learned to walk: ever since, I have let myself run. I have learned to fly: ever since, I do not want to be pushed before moving along.

Now I am light, now I fly, now I see myself beneath myself, now a god dances through me.

Thus spoke Zarathustra. 

People don't understand why I love Nietzsche so much. They think something along the lines of, "Wait, isn't he that atheist philosopher? Aren't you a Christian? That doesn't make sense." And I grin.

Because life, I've discovered, is far less about the black and white, and far more about greens and purples and silvers. Less about Yes and No and more about Why and How. Less about systems and rules and more about discovery and illumination.

Most people don't ask questions about anything beyond the physical. Anything existential or metaphysical seems pointless and possibly depressing, so they avoid it.

I thrive on it.

I love learning about what makes people act the way they do. Maybe I should have been an anthropologist, but seeing different cultures and learning how they came about is, to me, just about the most interesting thing there is. When it gets more personal, learning people's life stories and adventures, so much the better. I want to be part of it. I want to know it all and experience it all. Every story, every belief, every flavor, every experience, every location. I just want to know, and I think it's this curiosity that keeps me going. If you tell me your favorite city is Florence, I want to go so I can see why you like it. If you're a dedicated Buddhist, I want to learn everything about it so I can understand your commitment. If your favorite ice cream flavor is Ashes & EyeJuice, you'd damn well better give me a taste of it so that I can know what you know.

"Behind your thoughts and feelings," says Nietzsche, "there stands a mighty ruler, an unknown sage." I like to find the "unknown sage" in everyone. Because people aren't worth less because they believe something differently. On the contrary, their unique perspective is very often worth more. It gives them a richness, a texture, that makes them unique.

And anything unique is always beautiful.