If ever
one breath came to me of that heavenly need
that constrains even accidents
to dance star-dances;

If I ever
laughed the laughter of creative lightning
which is followed obediently but grumblingly
by the long thunder of the deed;

If I ever
played dice with gods at their table,
the earth, till the earth quaked and burst and snorted
up floods of fire –

for earth is a table for gods and trembles
with creative new words and the dice throws
of the gods.

–excerpt Zarathustra, The Seven Seals, #3
by Friedrich Nietzsche

                    ***

But what of that you dice throwers!
You have not learned to play and
mock as a man ought to play and
mock! Are we not always seated at a
great table for games and mockery?

–excerpt Zarathustra, Of the Higher Man, #14
by Friedrich Nietzsche

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A friend came to mind as I read these words on the page of On Nietzsche by Georges Bataille.  Everyone of us suffers from unforeseen circumstances.  We control little to nothing in the event-space of our lives.  And not one friend only but more individuals come to mind.  The quiescent interludes are all too brief…  One is compelled to return to the lines of battle.

Seneca wrote: All the work and sacrifice, fantasies or desires, fame and power. …none of it will give you what you think it will.  Your fortune will not protect you from what fate has in store for you.

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I like this tune by A Flock of Seagulls.  There’s a world of meaning in the lyric lines of I Ran (So Far Away).

I Ran (So Far Away)

By A Flock of Seagulls

I walk along the avenue
I never thought I’d meet a girl like you
Meet a girl like you
With auburn hair and tawny eyes
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
You hypnotize me through

And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn’t get away

A cloud appears above your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
Shining down on you
The cloud is moving nearer still
Aurora Borealis comes in view
Aurora comes in view

And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn’t get away

Reached out a hand to touch your face
You’re slowly disappearing from my view
‘Appearing from my view
Reached out a hand to try again
I’m floating in a beam of light with you
A beam of light with you

And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day

And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I couldn’t get away

Writer(s): Alistair James Score, Francis Reynolds Maudsley, Paul Reynolds, Michael Score
2009