Dearest Darling Friends,
Amor fati is a Latin phrase that may be translated as “love of fate” or “love of one’s fate”. It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens, including suffering and loss as, necessary. Whether one likes them or not, it is accepted with zen like serenity.
Thomas Edison was at home eating dinner. A man burst into his home, interrupting him. He had bad news. His research facility was on fire.
Now how would you imagine Edison to react? Do you imagine Edison panicking or do you hear him screaming out “Why me?” or is he deeply distraught or do you see him in deep agony?
None of these happened. Edison requested his son to go and get his mother. It seems, Edison excitedly told his son, “She’ll never see a fire like this again.”
Naturally, Edison’s son thought his father had lost his mind, and rightfully so. All of Edison’s experiments, things that could never be replicated, were inside his laboratory, burning to the ground.
“Don’t worry. It’s all right,” Edison said calmly, “All my mistakes and a lot of unnecessary rubbish have just got burnt.”
In this, Edison revealed the true nature of Amor Fati – choosing to love your fate, no matter what.
Not only was he “NOT broken-hearted”, he was revitalized. Despite losing over $1 million at the age of 67 in that fire, he persevered and made over $10 million thereafter. WOW!
I am in love with the concept of Amor Fati. Why? Because, the power that we have in life by accepting our fate is so immense that you feel nothing is impossible for you. You believe that everything has a purpose, and that it is up to you to make this purpose something positive and active.
Maybe you lost your job.
Maybe someone cheated you of your entire life’s earnings.
Maybe, your trust was broken with impunity.
Maybe, the person you love the most, is facing a life threatening disease.
Maybe, someone ill treated you.
The challenge of your life may be considerable and inescapable.
And yet you’re given the choice to greet it with a smile. And then, act..That’s AMOR FATI.
I’m writing this article knowing fully well, it could be totally ignored by my readers. I love the process of writing and the clarity it provides. Hence, I write. The goal of this article is not to make you feel “okay” or even “good” when terrible things happen. It’s to make you feel GREAT irrespective of what happens. If it happened, then it was meant to happen. You are meant to make the best of it.
It is unnatural, I know, to feel calmness when faced with calamities. But see it this way. It is fuel for you to push harder when you felt lost. It is fuel for you to work harder when you want to quit. It is fuel for you to think big when nothing was going right. It is fuel for you to smile when all you want to do is frown.
Amor Fati, my dearest friends.
With love, prayers and exceptional wishes,
naren
Imagine, when we wake up, we are given only what we had thanked for.