In 1888, Friedrich Nietzsche was a year away from becoming mentally ill due to syphilis, yet he wrote the bulk of his literary legacy that year, including Twilight of the Gods, from which the excerpt pertaining to the “peace of soul” concept is contained. It is an inquisitive look at a complex issue, one which confounds philosophers, zealots and laymen alike. Nietzsche explains that this sought after sense of being is “merely a misunderstanding-something else, which lacks only a more honest name.” An issue which when looked at closer, reveals the true colors of it’s nature, the follies and absurdities, it’s uselessness and ugliness. Nietzsche expounds on ten examples of this misunderstanding, and these cover issues from feelings of laziness and weariness to fulfillment and dreadful certainty. Yet all of these are considered a false definition, a wrong answer. So what is the actual definition of “peace of soul?” It seems that the idea of “peace of soul” falls by today’s standards to the idea of “peace of mind,” a comfortable, calming feeling brought about by pleasures of the body, the atmosphere and the environment one dwells in. This shift in title seems to come about through the slow habitation of logic and science to fill our heads rather than the ethereal, the godly, and the religious. This term covers the definitions referred to as “misunderstandings,” however it would appear that the real meaning is still unanswered. By navigating its’ ideas, a solid form may arise from the mists, giving a clear look at the mystery behind the hidden peace within us all. Nietzsche’s “peace of soul” is an undefined term, buried under mounds of misinterpretation, yet by using the analogy of rivers and their properties, a new definition can be exposed in order to see Nietzsches’ real intention.
O' man river,
Dat ol' man river,
He mus' know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along. - (”Showboat” 1927)
The power of the river has been sung about, written about and talked about for thousands of years, being the veins of the uncharted new world, allowing entry for the Vikings and Chinese sailors into the New World long before Columbus. These freshwater life-streams provided new fishing opportunities and the essential water needed to survive. Homes were built along them, eventually giving rise to many of our greatest cities: New York City, Boston, Virginia Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, and many more around the world, even including the first civilization at Mesopotamia. The mystique and grandeur of its life-giving properties are nestled in its’ alcoves, the creation of our culture embedded in its’ silt. It is simple to see the connection between a sense of peace and security in ones’ state of being with one of these gently rolling along.
Rivers have many qualities and one of those is its’ use for transportation. Rivers have been sailed along since men figured to ride logs down them, getting free admission to the first flume ride in history. Through the use of this transportation, rivers can have a moving effect on the stirring movement within oneself, a intangible push towards continuing on all things in life, a private pep rally for the big game we all play. Although this might not seem like a peaceful setting, this feeling of continuation or moving forward, but it is within the certainty of its’ motion, its’ ceaselessness that brings comfort. It could be likened to the first experience with solar powered vehicles without gas, moving along endlessly with no
funds necessary to keep it intact. A constant output of clean, perfect energy, moving oneself closer to ones’ destination.
Another quality which both seem to share are the hidden dangers they carry with them. Just as a false sense of peace can be obtained through ones’ vices, the calmness of the river can lull one out of safety and into harms’ way. Tragedy has befallen most of the main rivers of the world and countless other smaller ones. Drownings, attacks, disappearances as well as dastardly deeds have happened along their banks, giving them an air of mystery and danger. Animal attacks are especially high in these tight quarters due mainly to just that, territory. With less maneuverability and less area to cover, incidents of attack are always higher here rather than open water. “Or the senile weakness of our will, our cravings, our vices.” “Peace of soul” carries this air of danger, of becoming slovenly, of addiction to vices, of becoming blissfully ignorant. These dangers are just as tangible, forcing the path of righteousness and self-will to become a focus in order to traverse its’ course.
Eddies and whirlpools are an insightful tidbit as well. For them to form, the currents must find hollows of stillness and stagnancy. The water almost seeks to slow and collect in calm pools. So it is with humans, enjoying the calm rather than the chaos. Life requires both, as the flow of fresh water oxygenates, and provides movement for animals, seed, and minerals, yet the stagnant pools create their own special pockets of life, teaming with bacteria, molds, and algae, the literal buffet along the highway. Humans tend toward stagnancy, as is seen over the expanse of our known existence. Scarcity of food, ice, bad weather and spiritual visions are the only thing that seems to move people around. Otherwise, with all the amenities intact, they will stay in one spot for their entire lifetime, if able. As like the river, “peace of soul,” or mind for that matter, lean towards the still rather than the flowing, yet the need for that movement, its’ existence, is essential to its’ survival.
Baptism is a spiritual rebirth, an awakening of the deepest inner workings of the self, the soul for sure would be included, but also the affirmation of ones’ being, their confirmations rather than just the unknown. The cleansing of the body, the ridding of all sins of the past and arising reborn in the faith, first took place supposedly in the calm, still waters of the Jordan river. This symbol has withstood 2000 years of holy wars and reprinted text. The nature of water is this way, with childhood filled with soaked days and pruned fingers, while adulthood is mostly showers and occasional baths, the random jacuzzi or the YMCA for some strokes. The loss of an interest to dive to the bottom of a pool or roll out the slip-n-slide are among these characteristics, a lack of wallowing in all of its’ beauty, the familiar saying, “I don’t wanna get wet right now.” Somewhere along the line, it becomes an inconvenience.
Giving up to to water’s natural power can be frightening, succumbing to its’ force without being in control a phobia to some. Most tend to enjoy it from the banks, watching them lazily drift along, yet this is a beautiful representation of “peace of soul.” In order to obtain it, one must follow it. Get in, without a boat or canoe, becoming one with it and drifting along. The lifestyle of the “at peace” person does not fit in with American society or its’ wishes, rather it slows a person down in many ways, allowing them to see more clearly. A worthy way to live, but this does not allow for the wife and kids, soccer practices and Tae-kwon-do, it requires a lifetime of dedication, time allotted in all ways imaginable. Searching for security in an insecure world forces us to face the here and now yet never being in the here and now, appreciating it for what it is at this moment in time.
The power of the water is part of us, an obvious fact that we are 75% of it, and this life blood is another misunderstanding of Nietzsches’, a cool glass of water on a hot day. In being so connected, the symbolism of its’ gestures, the sound of its’ motions, the dark bends and hollows it hides, all these mirror the ideas of peacefulness, and its’ idiosyncrasies. “Peace of soul” looks great from afar, a shining example
of life well lived. Yet the lifestyle it requires is painful, careful, and thorough, free of possession or attachment, containing ones’ love and bearing it for life. The river is the same, a beautiful view and a raise in market value, something one enjoys looking at, yet does not care to submerge in, drifting along, lazy like a leaf. Nietzsches’ closest example to real peace comes in the end of his statement, “Or the expression of maturity and mastery in the midst of doing, creating, working, and willing-calm breathing, attained “freedom of the will.”” The words sounds eerily like the chorus from “Ol’ man river,” a hidden tribute to Nietzsche calling out from the subtext.
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