A philosophy
that does not make us happier,
more virtuous; that on the contrary, lets it be understood
that one will likely perish in its service;
that one will be isolated from one’s times, burned and scaled;
that one will have to pass through every contempt and hate;
that one will need a great deal of hardness toward oneself
and unfortunately toward others;

such a philosophy does not easily insinuate itself near someone,
one must be born for it.

-excerpt Will To Power, II, book 4, §23; XIV, pt. 2, §291,  by Friedrich Nietzsche 1884

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Is there a point I wonder to myself?  My interest in philosophy, especially in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, and in that of his successors in the aftermath of WWII Europe, philosophies of ruin and resurrection, is a mystery to me.  Is a requirement that one be born into a working class, fundamentalist household with a laser-like lock on “serving the lord?”  Clearly that is something I have in common with the late 19th century German, Nietzsche.  His father was a Lutheran minister.  Does anyone fully recover from being a disappointment to one’s father?  My dad was a lay minister, convinced that the text of the Bible was a portal to a sacred way of life.  That was a given, beyond any reason, as all matters of faith are a-rational.

“And so it goes,” as Kurt Vonnegut Jr. often wrote in Slaughterhouse-Five

What song is offered for today’s journey?  This tune by Ozzy Osbourne speaks to me: Mama, I’m Coming Home.  There is a palpable note of fate, that all things are according to what had to be.  There is beauty, meaning, laughter — with a ruin.

Mama, I’m Coming Home

By Ozzy Osbourne

Times have changed and times are strange
Here I come, but I ain’t the same
Mama, I’m coming home

Times gone by, seems to be
You could have been a better friend to me
Mama, I’m coming home

You took me in and you drove me out
Yeah, you had me hypnotized, yeah
Lost and found and turned around
By the fire in your eyes

You made me cry, you told me lies
But I can’t stand to say goodbye
Mama, I’m coming home

I could be right, I could be wrong
It hurts so bad, it’s been so long
Mama, I’m coming home

Selfish love, yeah, we’re both alone
The ride before the fall, yeah
But I’m gonna take this heart of stone
I just got to have it all

I’ve seen your face a hundred times
Everyday we’ve been apart
I don’t care about the sunshine, yeah
‘Cause mama, mama, I’m coming home
I’m coming home

You took me in and you drove me out
Yeah, you had me hypnotised, yeah
Lost and found and turned around
By the fire in your eyes

I’ve seen your face a thousand times
Everyday we’ve been apart
And I don’t care about the sunshine, yeah
‘Cause mama, mama, I’m coming home
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
I’m coming home

Lyrics by John Osbourne, Zakk Wylde